Old Friends and Suprises
by Laurella
Summary: The team gets called out on a case after an Un-Sub targets fire fighters. The Un-Sub set up fires has a trap to them. While investigating the case, Reid gets a surprise he did not expect. Now he is attached to the case.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 A New Case

It was a little past two o'clock in the morning. The night had been dark because it was cloudy along with a new moon. The only source of lighting in the area had been from streetlights and the businesses in the area. For the most part of that evening it had been quiet.

The calm did not last long.

There was another light that formed that evening. A fire was burning in the distance. The fire had come alive and was eating away at the old building.

The light was tempered then by the wailing of sirens and the whirl of a helicopter.

The helicopter shown its light on the area around the building has the firetrucks descended upon the fire.

Clockwork-like training had set in immediately. The firefighters immediately rushed about on their assigned tasks. The cops that had arrived with them too began on their jobs.

This area was not overly active especially at this time of night.

In truth the job seemed routine. While all those involved new the daily dangers of their chosen professions, there was nothing that struck as strange this evening.

"Hey kid, keep that coming nice and easy." One of the fighters called to the other.

"Watch your own old man. I got this." The kid had called back.

The kid jumped when he heard the noise. At first he thought it was a board or something on the burning building that had broken. He ignored it.

The firefighters continued working.

The kid would have brushed it off if he hadn't heard the noise again.

That was when the others in the party had heard the noise as well.

Back up training had immediately kicked in.

The firefighters quickly moved to a covered position.

"Please tell me that was a stray or something." One of the firefighters yelled.

The cops on scene were quickly reacted to the incoming fire. They figured the position and called in for back-up.

The situation was different behind the fire truck.

"Hey kid, stay with me." The "old man" firefighter was calling to the young firefighter. "This ain't nothing. You got this. You're young."

The medic that was with the firefighters was working on the kid. He was used to smoke inhalation and burns and the like. The bullet wound was different.

The old man firefighter held the hand of the kid firefighter letting the medic work. He wasn't going to let this one go.

More cops and firefighters showed to put out the blaze and help locate the shooter.

CM***********************************************

At Quantico Virginia the weather was mildly warm and pleasant. It was a day to enjoy outside. That would not be the case for everyone

The BAU had received the text messages when they woke up that they had a case.

Dr. Spencer Reid rode the elevator up to the 6TH floor. There were several agents in the car as well. He ignored them just as much as they ignored him.

Reid wondered what the case would be. The text had said California so he had his go-bag with him. The general weather this time of year in California would be nice.

His thoughts were also on his time at Cal Tech. He had wondered how Morgan would react if he knew a piece of truth about his time there. During his time there, for a short period he did have a relationship with a girl. The girl in question could have easily been described as a princess.

Reid had not heard from her in years. He didn't even know where she was.

When he arrived at the round table, Hotchner, Prentiss, Morgan, J.J. and Garcia were already there. At least he beat Rossi in.

"Long night?" Morgan said teasingly.

"There was a lecture last night I was sitting in on." Reid explained. "The professor was offering a Q and A afterwards."

"Was she hot at least?" Morgan asked.

"Not really, he was sixty."

"Don't knock age there kid." Rossi said walking in.

"Garcia, start the briefing." Hotch said before the conversation went any further.

The team listened to Garcia has they watched the screen.

"There have been five fires in the last month in Northern California. When the firefighters responded someone started shooting at them." She showed a video of the last fire to the team. The building in the video was clearly old and was going up rather quickly in the inferno.

"The first time the fire was considered harassing. The trucks were hit, but none of the fighters were touched. The second time around one off the fighters was hit. The bullet only grazed, he was fine. The third time the bullet hit the firefighter. He was labeled as critical, but he made it. The fourth time there wasn't any injuries, only the trucks were hit."

"I take it that it got worse on the last one." Rossi said.

"It did," Garcia said. "The Un-Subs killed Firefighter Michael Sullivan. He just started to be a firefighter. He had only been with the company for a few months." It was clear that Garcia's heart was going out to firefighters.

"Shooting at firefighters." Morgan said. "That doesn't normally happen."

"How do we know if it was even the same person?"

"Forensics of the bullets was determined to be from the same gun." Garcia explained. "All the buildings had an accelerant around them. They were also in secluded areas. When it was determined where the shooter was coming from they couldn't find any brass at the sight."

"His schedule is completely erratic." Reid said looking at the dates. He has a gap of three days between the first and second fire. The third fire is the next day. Then there is over a week between the third and the forth. The fifth was three days."

"Which means that we have no idea when this Un-sub is going to strike next." Rossi said.

"Wheels up in thirty." Hotch said.

The team got up from the table and made their way to the jet.

After the jet took off the team looked over the file from the case.

"This Un-Sub does have a familiarity with the science of fires. He knew how to get the fire going before the fighters arrived. This might have initially started out with harassment." Reid said looking at the folder. "Then at some point the Un-sub escalated."

"This could also be an act of vengeance." Prentiss said.

"If it is then the firefighters are shot at random has surrogates. He could eventually go after the true object of his rage." Reid thought out loud.

"How is the local media handling all of this?" Morgan asked. "Usually firefighters do receive support from the public."

"The fire department is being close lipped." J.J. answered. "They have warned the neighboring community's firefighters and have warned other law enforcement in the area as well."

"I think it's odd that the fires weren't reported anonymously." Morgan said. "That wouldn't be part of someone who is out for revenge."

"One fire was called in by some kid, he was lost." Rossi added. "Right place, wrong time."

"Two of them were reported by patrol calls." Hotch added.

"If this Un-Sub is out to get firefighters, I wonder why wouldn't call it in?" Prentiss asked. "That would put them into position on his schedule."

Rossi considered this. "If the Un-Sub has that much patience in between fires, he would have it waiting for someone to call it in."

"That could also serve has a forensic countermeasure." Reid said.

"Make sense." Morgan acknowledged. "I mean after the second call in the fire department and the police would wise up."

"There is also the fact that he polices up his brace." Rossi added. "That does imply military or law enforcement.

Hotch contemplated what the team had said. "We don't have enough yet to know if this was a specific act of vengeance, the firefighters are nothing more than surrogates or if it is general rage. He will be unpredictable. At least he has a signature. Secluded building at night and he picks up his brass."

The team collectively knew that unpredictable Un-Subs were by nature harder to catch. They were though in agreement to the initial assessment.

"Prentiss, Reid, J.J. and I will go to the police station. Prentiss and I will talk to the officers involved in the cases. Reid, you will work on a geographic profile. Morgan and Rossi, I want you talk with the local firefighters. J.J. we need to keep this Un-Sub out of the press."


	2. Chapter 2

LeedsUK – Here is more development on the case

M – Time to meet those involved and the "old man" firefighter

Kateryne1 – Nothing much yet. Next chapter will provide more.

CM*******************************************

Chapter 2 Police Officers and Firefighters

When the plane touched down in California the team piled into the customary black SUVs and went to their collective assignments.

Morgan and Rossi headed towards the fire department.

Hotchner, Prentiss, Reid, and J.J. headed towards the Brooks police station.

When they arrived at the building they were met by an officer in a suit. The profilers quickly profiled him as a professional.

"You are the BAU." The officer said extending his hand.

"Yes," Agent Hotchner said. "This is Agent Prentiss, Agent Jareau and Dr. Reid." He introduced politely.

"I'm Officer Sinclair." The officer said shaking hands with Agents Hotchner, Prentiss, and Jareau.

Reid remained behind J.J. He had only offered a small wave.

"I believe we spoke on the phone." Sinclair said to J.J.

"Yes," J.J. said shaking his hand.

"I've got you set up with our little conference room." Sinclair said guiding them into the building. "I know our precinct isn't much."

"We've worked with less." J.J. said reassuringly. "Have the media taken with the story yet?"

"No," Sinclair said. "Captain Boreland made sure that anyone who says anything will be reprimanded. He runs the department."

"Good, we will need to keep it that way for now." Hotch said. "There may be a possibility that information will need to released."

"I will talk with Captain Boreland if it comes to that." Sinclair said.

When they reached the conference room Sinclair politely opened the door for them. "I told you it was small."

"It's great." Prentiss said looking around the small room that was only the size of an office.

Has soon as he walked in, Reid immediately began work on the map that had been tacked on the wall. He took the markers and the pins that had been placed there and started working.

Officer Sinclair quirked an eyebrow at the genius.

"He's working on a geographic profile. It helps us find the Un-Sub's comfort zone." J.J. explained.

"I thought you said he was a doctor?" Officer Sinclair said.

"He has three doctorates." Hotchner explained. "He's our expert on everything."

"If whatever he is doing helps, I will get him a box of markers with every color available." Officer Sinclair replied.

Reid did not look away from the board. "These colors are enough, thank you."

"We would like to speak with the officers that responded to the fires." Hotchner said.

"They're over here." Officer Sinclair said directing Hotch and Prentiss.

"I'll see what the media has so far." J.J. said.

The three left Reid alone with the map. It did not seem like he noticed them leaving.

CM*********************************************************

Agents Rossi and Morgan arrived at the Fire Station which was not far from the police station.

They walked in the door and saw several fighters hanging around in a foyer area.

When they walked in the firefighters stopped what they were doing and eyed the strangers. One of the older fighters, the one referred to as 'old man', the same who had been with Michael Sullivan when he died, stepped up.

"We need to speak with who's in charge." Morgan said showing the firefighter his badge.

"You here to find out who killed the kid." The old firefighter said.

"We're going to do everything we can." Rossi said reassuringly.

The old man starred down the two agents sizing them up.

"Sullivan went in here with the right attitude. That's hard to find now days. The office is upstairs."

The old firefighter said guided Morgan and Rossi up the stairs to the third floor.

The three stopped outside a door marked OFFICE. The old firefighter knocked on the door. "Doris, its Mark. I've got some Feds here." he called.

"Come in," a women's voice called from the other door.

Mark opened the door to let the agents in. "They're here about Sullivan." He said.

"Come in gentlemen." Doris said standing from behind her desk.

The agents looked at Doris. She was in her mid-forties. Her skin was of a medium completion and her hair was short and brown. She was clearly physically fit. Morgan figured she spent a lot of her spare time at the gym. Doris wore a simple t-shirt with the fire house logo and jeans.

Though she was clearly relaxed in appearance the agents could tell that she was serious about her job and wasn't a person to cross.

Morgan and Rossi walked up the desk and shook Doris' extended hand.

Mark in the meantime had taken an immediate protective position just behind the agents.

"I'm Doris Oliver." The woman said welcoming the agents. "It's okay, Mark. Why don't you get us all some coffee?"

Mark glared at the agents clearing sending a message to the both of them. He then stepped out of the office.

"Protective." Agent Rossi said.

"It's his nature." Doris said with a smirk. "Please have a seat."

The agents sat down in the chairs.

"This is Agent Morgan, I'm Agent Rossi." Rossi said making himself comfortable.

Doris sat back down and positioned herself in such a way to let the Agents know she was engaged in the conversation. "I would like to apologize for Mark. Mark, takes all the young kids under his wing when they come through those doors. It doesn't matter if they're seven or twenty-seven."

"He took you in I take it." Morgan said.

"That he did." Doris said proudly. "After I got injured he helped me move up the ranks and into this position. He helped me become an arson investigator and then get my degree in public administration, which is just a bureaucrat. He has never once minded the fact that the hot headed kid he helped became his boss."

Mark walked in right then with the coffee. Despite his attitude towards the agents he offered the coffee politely. "Have you agents got anything usable to find this Son-of-a-Bitch?"

"We are still investigating." Rossi said reassuringly. "We are going to find him."

"That's enough." Doris said to Mark. "Make sure that Thompson got dinner tonight. If it's chili again so help me I will line him out."

Mark walked out clearly understood he was being dismissed.

"This firehouse operates like a family." Morgan observed.

"Yes, that is a fair assessment." Doris said. "I'm actually a fourth generation fire fighter."

"That's impressive." Rossi commented.

"I'm also the first girl in the family to become a fire fighter. It was traditional in my family for the women to go into nursing or teaching. I wasn't too interested in either. I married a teacher instead."

"That evens things out I guess." Morgan said.

"Kids?" Rossi said indicating a picture on the desk of a young girl with blonde hair.

Doris turned the picture for the agents to see. It was of Doris and the girl in hiking attire. It was clear that they were on some kind or mountain. They had their arms around each other in the shot.

"Yeah, that's my daughter." Doris said with a lot of pride. "She wants to join the Marines like her uncle when she grows up. It makes a mom proud."

"Yes it would," Rossi answered.

Doris then looked at Morgan and Rossi directly. "Agents, I'm going to be straight with you. I grew up with firefighters has my brothers and sisters. Now they are under my charge. Someone is coming after my kids. Someone killed one of my kids."

"We are going to do everything we can." Morgan said. "I do have some questions for you."

"What are they?" Doris asked.

"Has there been anyone in the last year that may have a grudge against the local firefighters?"

"A grudge." Doris stated.

"Someone who was let go. Someone who spoke out against the department maybe after an accident that someone wasn't saved."

"I've been involved with a lot of fires and accidents." Doris said. "I've never seen anyone react afterwards like that. Not once. I've never even heard of it."

"Would you mind us asking the other fire fighters?"

"Not at all." Doris said. "I'll go down with you to make sure that they don't give you any issues. You'll have to forgive the locals around here. They don't like Feds that much."

The three went downstairs to talk with the firefighters.

Both Rossi and Morgan knew that it was going to be a long interview session.


	3. Chapter 3

kateryne1 here you go

tannerose51 this will hopefully work for you

Moonlily22 I admit I was a little iffy on this story. I decided to set the page breaks at three pages on the word doc. You're not harsh.

CM***********************************************************************

Chapter 3 An old friend

The team was sitting or leaning around in the small conference room going over the notes of the case.

It had been two days since the last attack. All of the fires that were responded to were routine. There were a couple of kitchen fires and someone who wasn't paying attention to their grill.

Prentiss and Hotch had interviewed all the officers that had been involved in the shootings. They were not able to provide any additional information that wasn't already in the police reports.

J.J. had talked with the local media liaison. The local reporters had determined that there was something going on with the local fires. However they did not have enough information to put together an attention getting headline.

Rossi and Morgan had talked again at length with both Doris and with Mark. Mark had more knowledge about the firehouse than anyone else.

Mark had even begun warming to the Agents. He had figured that the Agents were just has dedicated as he was at finding the Un-Sub.

Rossi had already figured that if they found the Un-sub to ensure that Mark was not in the area. He would be likely to kill the Un-Sub

Reid had stated that based upon the location of the fires, the comfort zone was too big to pin point an exact area. The only thing Reid was able to offer was locations the Un-Sub would probably choose for future fires. There were too many to do a constant surveillance on.

The case became even more frustrating for the group.

Even Garcia of all people had been unable to provide any further information either. She had looked through past employment at the firehouse and any connections with the buildings. There was nothing there.

Officer Sinclair came in. "We're ready for you."

The team stepped out to give the profile.

"The Un-Sub is a probably a white male. He is in his mid-thirties to forties." Hotch began.

"It is most likely that this individual has some kind of military training along with firefighter training." Morgan continued.

"Do not focus on military or firefighter." Prentiss added. "This is a probability. He could be military and trained in arson investigation."

Reid pointed towards the map. "These buildings here are his most likely future targets. He will case these buildings prior to the fire."

"If you see anything suspicious in these areas, report it. Any fires in these buildings will have an immediate escort." Officer Sinclair added.

After the profile and subsequent questions were answered the team returned to the conference room. They were talking about calling it quits for the night when there was a knock at the door.

"Did someone order a large coffee with five sugars?" A beautiful woman asked from the doorway.

"Mary Anne!" Reid shouted getting up. He practically tripped over Rossi's chair moving to the door. "Wow." He said hugging her.

Mary Anne accepted the hug smiling.

"You look amazing, wow you have. . ." Reid trailed off has he took in the site of her.

The team looked at Mary Anne. She was tall and blonde with a very thin frame. She wore a wool skirt with a button shirt and a preppy sweater. Her clothing almost made her look like a girl version of Reid.

It didn't take a profiler to see that the two had a special relationship. Reid brushed his fingers lightly on Mary Anne's face. In response she had tilted her face towards his hand.

"I think you grew a little bit since I last saw you." Mary Anne said.

"You are more beautiful." Reid said to her. He took a hold of her left hand. Reid saw the wedding band that she wore. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Mary Anne said with a small, blushing smile. "According to Emily Post though, the proper expression to offer a woman in a case of marriage is 'best wishes'."

"Yes, however with current trends the differences with 'best wishes' and 'congratulations' isn't has prevalent." Reid said.

The two then shared a small laugh with each other.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Morgan asked taking in the site of an excited Reid.

Reid blushed a little bit. It appeared that he had actually forgotten that the team was there.

"I'm sorry," Reid said to them. "This is Mary Anne Adler?" Reid asked unsure of her last name now.

"Yes," Mary Anne answered. "I kept my name."

"Non-traditional." Reid said to her smiling.

"You know I don't take to traditional that well." Mary Anne replied.

Reid then turned his attention to the other profilers. "This is my team. This is Emily Prentiss, J.J., Derek Morgan, David Rossi, and Aaron Hotchner. Hotchner is in charge of the team."

It was clear to all the profilers that Reid had been excited by Mary Anne's unexpected appearance.

"Agent Rossi," Mary Anne said taking Rossi's hand. "A friend of mine and I were at a speaking engagement of yours several years ago I believe. Eyes of a Predator."

Agent Rossi smiled and shook Mary Anne's hand. "That would have been me then. How do you and Reid know each other?"

"Mary Anne and I went to college together we were . . ." Reid looked to Mary Anne to finish the sentence. He wasn't too sure what to say. They didn't discuss the labeling for their relationship.

"Spencer and I dated." Mary Anne explained with a bit of laughter. "That is the socially acceptable term for our relationship I suppose."

Prentiss and J.J. shared a look. Both were quickly starting to see how Reid and Mary Anne were compatible.

"What are you doing now?" Reid asked.

"I'm a junior professor now." Mary Anne answered. "If you were planning on dinner why don't you come home with me? I can introduce you to the family. That is if it is okay with your boss. I promise that my family will like you."

"Reid go, catch up." Rossi said quickly.

"We'll start again at eight o'clock." Hotch said approvingly.

The team took off for dinner and then back to the hotel.

Reid headed out with Mary Anne to her house. They rode in separate vehicles so Reid could go back to the hotel for night. When they arrived at the house they parked outside and walked towards the house.

"So, what were you doing at the station?" Reid asked.

"The probability factor of running into each other wasn't happenstance." Mary Anne began. "I was at the police station to meet a friend of mine, Angela. Angela works in the forensics lab in the police station. I was running her in some dinner. Because of your line of work with the FBI and that I spend time at the local police station it increased the chances."

"I suppose so." Reid said. "You didn't tell me the name of you husband." He nodded towards the additional car in the driveway.

"Her name is Doris." Mary Anne said. "Doris Oliver."

Reid was speechless for a second. "She's in charge of the firehouse?"

"Yes," Mary Anne said opening the door for Reid.

"Doris, Winnie, we're home." Mary Anne called out as she walked in.

A young girl came down the steps has Mary Anne and Reid were taking off their coats. "Mommy." She said looking at Reid curiously.

"You. . ." Reid started, but he stopped.

He was going to say adopted but he continued to stare at the girl.

Reid had figured her to be about twelve years of age. He quickly did the math from when he was last with Mary Anne. He looked at the girl and her facial features. He saw the genetic similarities.

There would be no doubt J.J. would say that this girl had her Grandmother Reid's eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Ahowell1993 – Even though you figured it out I hope you still like it.

Kateryne1 – I couldn't figure out how to do clues in the beginning.

Tannerose5 – I'm not a firefighter. I do respect them. I am afraid it is going to be worse.

Tlcort – you are right he would have been there. His reaction is coming.

To everyone I hope you like Winnie.

CM*******************************

Chapter 4 Winnie

Reid remained quiet for a moment has he looked at the girl.

She was tall for her age. She had soft blonde hair, clearly from her mother and his. The girl had pulled the long locks back in a ponytail. She wore stylish camouflage pants with a blue shirt, and a black pair of converses.

"This is our daughter, Rowena Ada Adler-Oliver." Mary Anne said politely. "She goes by Winnie, from the book Tuck Everlasting."

Reid continued to stare, not saying anything.

"Winnie, this is a friend of mine from College." Mary Anne said taking immediately control of the situation. "This is Doctor Spencer Reid."

Mary Anne took Reid's coat and hung it on the coat rack by the door.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Reid." Winnie said politely. "Are you a professor or a medical doctor?"

"I'm not a professor, I have three doctorates." Reid fumbled through the answer.

His mind raced through the possible reasons of why Mary Anne had not said anything to him. He wouldn't have shied away from the responsibilities.

"Wow, what subjects?" Winnie said excitedly.

"Math, Engineer, and Chemistry. I also have BAs in Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy." Reid quickly answered.

"I guess you would be the person to ask when I have trouble in math." Winnie said not seeming to notice the tension that Reid was feeling at that moment.

Doris Oliver came out from the kitchen. "We have about 10 minutes until dinner is ready." She said politely. "It's nice to meet you finally, Spencer."

"Nice to meet you to." Reid said politely.

"I'll set the table." Mary Anne said. "Winnie, did you finish your homework?"

"Almost," Winnie said. "I was taking a break practicing in the conservatory."

Mary Anne held a parentally stance. "Which one?"

"Literature," Winnie answered. "It's not due until Monday."

"Why don't you show Dr. Reid the conservatory before we sit down." Mary Anne suggested. She then gave a knowing look to Spencer.

"Only for five minutes," Mary Anne directed to Winnie.

"She would keep you up there all night." Mary Anne warned Spencer has he walked towards Winnie.

Winnie motioned to Reid to come upstairs with her. "It's up here."

"Did you know the word conservatory originated from French and Italian and is used. . ." Reid started.

"For early schools and music that was originated in orphanages where musical education was given." Winnie finished.

Reid was willing to admit that he was impressed.

They entered into one of the bedrooms upstairs. Reid had to admit that the room earned the nickname of conservatory. The walls were decorated in musical notes. There were books on the shelves of musical theories and sheet music. There was a keyboard, a lamp harp, and what looked like a flute in a box.

"This is my violin." Winnie said proudly holding the instrument that was on a shelf. "I've only started to learn this about three months ago."

"What about the harp and keyboard?" Reid asked looking at the other instruments.

"I learned the harp first." Winnie answered. "I play it once a week to keep up. I have the keyboard for practice. I play the real organ at the church for service."

"Church?" Reid said surprised.

"I learned how to play the piano and organ at church with Mrs. Winters. She normally plays, but I play when her arthritis hurts."

"What about the flute?" Reid asked.

"Actually it's a penny whistle, or tin whistle." Winnie said pulling the instrument out of the box and showing it to Reid. "Common mistake."

She then directed Reid to sit in the chair of the desk in the corner. "Mommy works in here when I'm not practicing. Do you like Beethoven or Mozart?"

"Mozart." Reid answered.

"That's my favorite." Winnie answered. She then placed the violin securely on her shoulder and then set the bow in her hand. She gracefully glided the bow over the strings.

Reid was entranced with the playing. Winnie was far from being an expert, however for the short time that she had the instrument she played wonderfully.

After a couple of stanzas she put the instrument down.

"That was wonderful. You've obviously practiced." Reid said impressed.

"Thank-you." Winnie said.

Reid then noticed a piece of paper on the desk. It was Rowena's full name written four times, clearly with a different hand. "What are these?"

"That's a puzzle from Angela, my God-Mother." Winnie said. "Do you know about comparing handwriting?"

"I am familiar with it," Reid said figuring what the puzzle was.

"This is the sample handwriting." Winnie said showing the top one. "One of these three was written by the same person. I haven't figured it out all the way. The original was done by a woman. This one here was written by a man, so it has to be one of those two."

Reid took a momentary glance at that paper. The original was a woman and the one that Winnie had crossed out was a man. Again, he was impressed.

"Winnie, Spencer, dinner." Mary Anne said from the doorway.

Reid and Winnie followed Mary Anne downstairs.

The kitchen and the dining room were open to each other making for a pleasant setting. There were four seats at a round table. The table had already been set for dinner.

Mary Anne directed Reid into a chair.

"We have water, coke, coffee, and apple juice." Doris said to Reid.

"Coke will be okay." Reid said. In his head he imagined Rossi or Emily saying that in this situation, there should have at least been some wine present.

The four sat down to the Yankee pot roast, carrots, and potatoes.

"So you are not a professor." Winnie asked to Reid. "What do you do?"

"I work with the FBI." Reid answered politely.

"Really," Winnie said.

Reid was sure the next question was something of the effect that if had killed anyone or if she could see his gun. That was what they had always asked. Rowena's question took him completely by surprise.

"Can I see your badge? I've seen police and detective badges. I've never seen a FBI badge."

"Sure." Reid said. He pulled out his credentials and handed it over to Winnie.

"Supervisory Special Agent." Winnie read. "I guess that means you are high ranking."

Reid smiled along with Mary Anne.

"Behavioral Analysis Unit." Winnie continued. "What's that?" She said passing the credentials back to Reid.

Reid was suddenly starting to feel more relaxed around Rowena.

"The BAU are profilers." Reid answered.

"Did Angela ever tell you about profilers?" Mary Anne asked.

"No," Winnie said.

"It's like doing a forensics of the mind." Mary Anne answered. "That is simplified."

"That is accurate." Reid agreed.

"Then you are here to a case." Winnie guessed.

"What did you think of the conservatory?" Doris said quickly, she clearly wanted to change the subject.

Reid or Mary Anne couldn't blame her. Reid had figured that Doris did not want to talk about what was happening with Rowena.

"It was impressive." Reid said approvingly. "Learning to play several instruments is very beneficial for educational reasons." He then started going into the benefits of children's' exposure to music at young age.

Mary Anne sent a look over to Doris, it was clearly saying something like 'told you'.

Winnie was taken in by what was said. She clearly had not thought about that.

After that the dinner was calm until Doris' cell phone rang. She excused herself to the kitchen. She returned a moment later. "I've got to go back to work."

"Is it about .. ." Mary Anne asked knowing Doris would know.

"No," Mary Anne said. "Thompson has an emergency. I need to do some schedule reworking." She then gave loving hugs to Mary Anne and Winnie. "Hopefully I will get a better opportunity to meet you, Spencer."

"It was nice to meet you." Reid said politely.

"Bye, Mum." Winnie said to her has she left.

Winnie helped Mary Anne clean up dinner. Spencer tried to help, but was stopped by Mary Anne. He instead talked with Winnie has they worked.

In the conversation Reid had found out that Winnie did go to church every Sunday. Both Doris and Mary Anne were very supportive of this.

Reid had been impressed that the family had gone to Louisiana to help with some restoration efforts when Winnie was younger.

He had also learned that Winnie was getting ready to run her third 5K. Doris had been with her for the previous runs. Her goal was to do a triathlon by the time she graduated from high school.

Morgan and Rossi would no doubt be teasing him constantly. His own daughter wasn't a bookworm, she was an athlete.

What had surprised Reid the most about Winnie was a couple of years ago she lived with her uncle Michael for a year. He was a farmer in Kentucky.

It was wonderful time for Rowena. "Uncle Michael had me learn how to ride horses, milk cows and how to work with crops." Winnie explained. "They baked everything from scratch like the Tuck family."

"That would be wonderful." Reid said approvingly towards Mary Anne.

"He also taught me how to shoot."

That was the statement that would have made Reid choke if he had been drinking at that moment.

"You mean with a gun?" Reid said wondering why Mary Anne would approve of this.

"Uncle Michael taught me how to shoot a gun and a bow and arrow." Winnie said happily.

"She's an excellent shot." Mary Anne said. "I have the paper target."

"That was all I shot at was targets." Winnie explained. "The rifle I used was a 22 youth model. Uncle Michael taught me proper handling of all weapons and marksmanship. He even taught me about proper cleaning and maintenance."

Reid's mouth hung open in response.

"He also taught me how to use a compound bow. I liked that best." Rowena said. "I am only allowed to handle a weapon with him present."

In his head he was now picturing Rossi and Morgan using this to make fun of him as well. Prentiss would surely join in. Hotch would possibly break out of character.

Mary Anne quickly came to reassure Reid. "Michael got Winnie into a class with a certified instructor who teaches women and girls how to shoot. Rowena knows about safety and how weapons are not toys they are tools."

"It's going to rain tomorrow. I think Mrs. Winters isn't going to play Sunday. Her hands always hurt for about a day after it rains." Winnie said. "I haven't played this hymn before at church I wanted so more practice."

"Go ahead and practice." Mary Anne said. "Spencer and I will catch up."

With everyone gone Mary Anne and Spencer talked.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 About Reid and Mary Anne

"I really wish you would have at least told me." Reid said after Winnie went upstairs. He held his tone calm. The FBI interrogation training was now kicking in on his personnel life.

"Why," Mary Anne asked keeping herself calm. "To have you not finish out your post graduate work. To just go out and get a job. Not to go to the FBI. I know that's what you wanted."

"I could have been there for you." Reid said his voice getting higher. "I could have supported you. I had a right."

"So did I." Mary Anne said in a harsh tone. "And I didn't need support."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.

Mary Anne took a breath to calm herself down.

She took a seat next to Spencer. "When I had managed to get myself into school I had to work to make it through my Bachelors."

Mary Anne had struggled to make it through her college courses. She had held herself with perseverance.

"When I went through my Master's program," Mary Anne took Spencer's hand. "We both know that you were the only reason I made it through. Spencer you supported me more than my own family did."

Spencer didn't look up. He only stared at his hand cupped in Mary Anne's.

They had met for the first time at the library. Mary Anne had requested a tutor to help her through courses. Reid had scholarships, however that money did not pay for everything. Mary Anne had hired Reid to help her with her school work.

Mary Anne managed to keep her voice calm. "I also know that we would have followed only one road, either mine or yours. I didn't want you to stray from your path and I didn't want to stray from mine." Mary Anne said calmly.

Spencer finally looked up at Mary Anne.

"You know with my family that I could support myself and a child. I never had to go to college. I could have lived comfortably off of my trust-fund. If we were together we would have had some type of warped fairy tale ending."

"I think it would have been more of an anti-fairy tale." Spencer finally said thinking about what Mary Anne had told her about her family.

"Where the princess' parents were more like wicked step-parents." Mary Anne said.

Reid had considered Mary Anne to be a princess it was for several reasons. When they first met at the library he was taken by how pretty she was, physically. At first he thought that she had been trying to earn grades by her looks. When the professors didn't play into that she needed to learn how to study. It was after meeting and getting to know Mary Anne that he had changed his assessment. She was serious about understanding the material and building her mind.

It was true that Mary Anne didn't need to go to college. Her family had money. Mary Anne's parents had encouraged her to bank upon her looks and become an actress. They had sent her to different schools in her youth towards this pursuit.

Mary Anne's parents, especially her mother, were stage parents.

In an unusual mark of rebellion Mary Anne had broken away from that path when she became a teenager. She had decided to improve her mind and pursue an academic career. While she was not naturally smart she had instead asserted herself. Her family's money still paid for the education.

When Mary Anne was looking for a tutor she was looking for someone she could trust and that wouldn't try to flirt or try to entice her. That was why she had chosen Spencer Reid from the several applicants.

"I know Mother and Father wouldn't have approved of you as my tutor. If they found out that you are Rowena's father. . ." Mary Anne shook her head.

There was another awkward pause for a moment.

"My parents are judgmental and narcissistic." Mary Anne said. "They were like that before the creation of Social Media. It was easier for them to assume that it was some professor at school."

Reid knew anything that he said in anger would hurt the situation. He contemplated what Mary Anne had said. "There was nothing that would have made me doubt you being able to raise a child."

Mary Anne smiled. "I was going to tell you about Winnie a while back. I ran into Ethan a few years back. It was when we were down in Louisiana. He told me that he just saw you and that it would not be a good idea just yet. He told me to give you some time and then I could. When I heard you were here, I took it has a good time to tell you."

Mary Anne then leaned back. "If you are mad I do understand."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Reid had contemplated what Mary Anne had said along with their previous conversations.

"I can't be mad at you." Reid said after a moment. He was sure about the time that Mary Anne went to Louisiana. Right then wouldn't have been good.

He now looked directly at Mary Anne. "I want to be a part of Rowena's life."

"I think she would like that." Mary Anne said. "You will be the only one that calls her Rowena."

"How do you think we should tell her about who I am?" Spencer asked.

"I think the best way is to let her figure it out on your own." Mary Anne answered. "I think it would be best if you start to build a relationship with her. Give her sometime to get to know you. She will see the similarities, then she will do the math. I will answer truthfully when she asks.

Spencer tried to think about what he could develop a relationship with. "How would I do that, I live in D.C.?"

"You do have three doctorates, your mother taught literature, that makes you more than qualified to help her in school." Mary Anne. "She takes after me in academics. She's a B average student at best. Doris and I have both tried to help her in school. You had tutored me, so you have experience."

"What does she have trouble in?"

"Math and science." Mary Anne answered. "I had asked Angela to help out. She's been teaching Winnie about forensics and giving her puzzles to entice her interest to help her develop the foundations. I think it is a lack of interest. She does very well with the puzzles."

"I can help her." Spencer said. "She's good at puzzles. Does she play chess at all?"

"No," Mary Anne admitted. "I don't play and neither does Doris. I'm sure she knows a little bit, but I've never seen her play."

Now Reid was picturing Morgan. 'So you are telling me that your own daughter doesn't play chess, she's not interested in science and she is physically tough. Are you sure she's yours?'

"I'll use that as a means to develop a rapport with her then." Spencer said.

He would have to get with Garcia to set up his apartment so he would be able to communicate with Rowena.

"In that you will cultivate a familiarity and comfort with her." Mary Anne said.

"Yes," Spencer answered. "At this stage it would be easier for her to be comfortable with me before she finds out who I really am."

"She's never been to DC. She will probably ask you about that."

Spencer momentarily entertained the thoughts of Rowena spending time with him in DC. "She's stayed in Kentucky?"

"That's Doris' side of the family." Mary Anne said. "It's something they started a few years ago. The kids spend extended time with their cousins. Last year Doris' brother Jeff's daughter Karen spent the summer with us. They live in Arizona. The kids have seemed to like it."

"How did your parents react to you marrying Doris?"

Mary Anne started laughing. "When we got together it was very popular and PC. My parent's were over joyous. My status was quickly changed from the child they did not speak of to the favorite. My status dropped after they met Winnie."

"You didn't expose Rowena to your parents?" Spencer asked. He had never actually formally met Mary Anne's parents. He did however develop a preliminary profile based upon the stories that Mary Anne had told him.

Mary Anne shook her head. "Doris and I agreed early on that Rowena would not spend an extended amount of time with my parents without supervision."

"How did you lose your status?" Spencer asked.

"I think my parents were expecting some kind of little lady. They were surprised by what they called an unladylike tomboy."

"What did Rowena do?"

"Climbed a tree on the property. Then she beat her cousin Charlie in a game of basketball."

Reid was now picturing both J.J. and Morgan asking him to explain how his daughter was able to be athletic.

"I think Winnie is a strong argument for nature versus nurture." Mary Anne said. "I believe it's because of Doris that she has her athletic nature. Between the two of us, it is Doris she takes after. She's also has a very sweet nature."

"She seems that way." Spencer said.

"A few months ago she was walking home from school with her friend Kyle." Mary Anne started. "There's this kid that goes to her school, he's a little small for his age, the perfect target for bullies."

"Rowena intervened." Spencer guessed.

"Yes, there were three of them. Kyle and Winnie managed to scare them away. They walked the kid home afterwards." Mary Anne finished. "His mom called me that evening. Winnie never told me what happened. I had asked her after the phone call."

Spencer had to smile at that. Now he was picturing Rossi. 'Now that sounds like your daughter.'

Mary Anne went to the living room and pulled a book from the bookshelf. It was a leather bound picture book. "I started putting this together a little after Rowena was born. I wanted to give this to you. I didn't know how."

Spencer took the book and looked at it. It was of Rowena growing up. Everything was included, pictures with descriptions and short letters from Mary Anne to Spencer.

Mary Anne and Spencer continued talking until it was late and Reid had to return to the hotel and get some sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Hannity

The next morning Reid had met the team at the hotel's breakfast.

He sat down with Prentiss, Morgan and J.J. Rossi and Hotch were at their own table.

"So tell us about Mary Anne." Prentiss said has they started in the continental food.

"She did well with her life." Reid simply answered. "She has a daughter, she looks like her." She also looks like her grandmother. Reid thought to himself.

"What's her name?" Prentiss asked.

"Rowena." Reid answered.

"Rowena?" Morgan asked.

"The name was first recorded in the twelfth century by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his history of Britain." Reid started to explain. "It has possible origins in both Germanic and Welsh. The name was used for the heroine in Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe. That was where Mary Anne got the name."

"I figured it might be from Harry Potter or something." J.J. joked.

"No," Reid answered. "She actually uses a shortened version, Winnie."

"Winnie?" J.J. asked.

"From the book, Tuck Everlasting." Reid explained.

"That's a good book." Prentiss said, "I read it after watching the movie. The movie did okay."

"I've never read it." Read confessed.

"Really," Morgan said. "I'm surprised. I thought it was supposed to be some kind of classic."

"I was actually going to pick it up on the way home." Reid said. It was his daughter's favorite book. He probably should read it.

"You spent some time with her daughter then." Prentiss said noticing on the course of the conversation.

"We talked about her a lot." Reid quickly said. "She's really enjoying being a mother."

"What about the rest of her family?" J.J. asked.

"She has a strong family." Reid answered.

"What's her husband's name?" Morgan asked.

"Oliver," Reid lied. "Mary Anne has a very good extended family. She is on far better terms with them then her own. I'm happy for her."

Hotch and Rossi listened in the conversation. The two exchanged a look, they were in agreement that Reid was leaving out at least one piece of information.

The team finished their breakfast and then returned to the station.

When they got to the station the team worked on their respected jobs, unaware of what had occurred the night before. They would find out after they arrived.

CM******************************************************

After the initial profiling briefing from the BAU, several officers had been assigned to watch over the buildings that were suspected to be possible targets of the Un-Sub. Their jobs were to watch for anyone casing the buildings. It was believed that the Un-Sub would look over the buildings prior. It would be a part of his methodical behavior.

During the afternoon, a black and white did a circle around one of the buildings. They watched for anyone hanging around it. The building was in an area that no one generally paid any attention to. Those in the area preferred it that way.

The cops doing the drive by had barely registered an old Ford Escort that was driving past them.

The driver looked towards the cops and then straight ahead. He then turned the vehicle in another direction. He continued driving until eventually making it to another neighborhood. The driver pulled into an empty parking space and pulled out his phone.

While messing with his phone the driver paid attention to the building that was on the corner. It wasn't long before he saw another police car, this one unmarked, do a circle around the building.

The driver started to seethe has he stared at the building. He then slowly pulled out. After making it out to the main road he started driving faster and faster. The Ford was clearly going over the speed limit.

When he reached the highway the driver yelled out, "I'm going to get that bitch."

The driver kept going further and further. He had eventually made it to the next town, Hannity.

The driver circled around the town until he came to the local firehouse. The driver parked the vehicle and watched the firefighters in a game of basketball in the courtyard area.

After a moment he saw a woman walk out and join in on the game.

The driver gripped the steering wheel even tighter. "I bet you think that you are something special." He growled.

After playing for a while the woman patted some of the guys on the back and headed to her vehicle.

The driver pulled out and followed the woman.

CM****************************************************************

The BAU was setting up for the morning in the small office the police department had given then.

They weren't there for long when Officer Sinclair poked his head in. "Listen, I don't know if I got something or nothing." He said.

"What is it?" Hotch asked.

"Hannity, it's the next town, I'm old friends Captain Snow there. I told him to call me if anything happened with any fire fighters in his town. I gave him the profile you gave us."

"Something happened?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah one of their firefighters," Officer Sinclair answered. "She didn't come home from work. Her husband got scared and called the police. He started following her normal route home, found her car abandoned on the road. Captain Snow said it looks like a struggle."

"How far is Hannity?" Hotch asked.

"twenty-five minutes." Officer Sinclair answered. "I've got her information here." Officer Sinclair said handing Morgan the Post-it note.

"Call Captain Snow and tell him we will be there." Hotch said. "You are right, it could be our Un-Sub."

Morgan immediately called Garcia. "Baby-Girl, I need you to run a search of Danielle Williams. She's a firefighter in Hannity. She's missing."

"I'm on it." Garcia said clearly glad to have something to do.

The team quickly made their way to the SUVs and drove towards Hannity.

They were halfway there when Garcia called them back.

"Here's what I have for Danielle Williams. She's been a firefighter for the last five years. She's been married for the past six years. She has been at the station for the past three years. She has a one year old son. It looks like her husband Robert stays home and cares for the kid. He works from home."

"Thanks, Baby-Girl." Morgan said hanging up the phone.

The team had made it quickly to the crime scene.

They were met quickly by an older officer. "Agent Hotchner, I' m Captain Snow," he said extending his hand. "Sinclair said that you would be interested in this."

"There is the possibility of a connection." Morgan said.

"I can't think how," Captain Snow said. "The car was found in the alley over here."

The team walked over to the dark alley. The car had clearly been hit from behind.

"Her bag was in the front seat. We found the phone smashed on the ground." Captain Snow said.

Reid looked over the scene slowly. "The Un-Sub got her from behind, she clearly tried to get away. She crashed. The car ended up here."

"Why her," Captain Snow said. "Look at this car." He said pointing to the decal on her car. "She's a firefighter. They get waved at while cops get the bad rap."

"That's what we are here to find out." Hotch said. "We need to know if there are any complaints against Danielle Williams. Morgan, Rossi, Reid and I will go talk to the firefighters. Prentiss and J.J. I need you to talk to the husband and see what you can find."

"The husband's in a car over here." Captain Snow said. J.J. and Prentiss stepped over to talk with the husband.

Morgan called Garcia has he headed towards the SUV. "Baby-Girl, have you seen anything else for Williams."

"No," Garcia said. "She is squeaky clean. Worked her way out of a bad neighborhood to become a firefighter. This looks like a projects success story. She decided to move to a small town I guess."

CM**************************************************

Several miles away there was more activity going on.

There was a jogging trail that led off on several paths. A jogger was running quickly down one of the less traveled paths.

"Help me."

The jogger stopped, unsure of what she heard.

"Help."

Slowly she looked over the slight drop where the voice had come from.

The jogger gasped at what she saw. "I'm coming." She yelled. She slid her way down the slight hill to the woman.

The woman looked horrible. She was covered in bruises and had several cuts along her body.

"I'm calling the police." The jogger said to the woman pulling out her name. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Danielle Williams." The woman said.

The jogger took the Danielle's hand. "I'll be right here." She said dialing 911.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 The Object of Rage

Has soon as the BAU got the word that Danielle Williams had been found they immediately responded. Hotch, J.J. and Prentiss immediately headed towards the hospital with Mr. Williams. The others had gone to see where Williams had been found.

Hotch had figured it would be easier if the interview was conducted by J.J. and Prentiss. He would speak with the doctor about the injuries.

The town was small so they were able to reach the hospital in a matter of minutes.

They made their way towards the Emergency Room. After showing their badges to the nurse they were shown towards Danielle Williams.

J.J. and Prentiss held back a moment to allow Danielle to be with her husband. They looked at Danielle while she hugged her husband. She looked as though she had been on the receiving end of an MMA fight. She was covered in bruises and several superficial cuts.

"Danielle Williams, we're with the FBI." J.J. said calmly. "Would you be willing to talk with us?"

Danielle looked at the agents. "I've told the doctor what happened already."

"We need to know what happened. It could help us find who did this to you."

"Dani, I've talked to them already. They want to help." Mr. Williams said gently to his wife. "I'll stay here if you want."

"Maybe you should. . ." Prentiss started.

"No," Danielle said quickly tightening her grip on her husband's hand. "He didn't attack me like that."

"Can you tell us then?" J.J. prompted.

"I was driving home." She started. "There was this guy tailgating me. It was making me nervous because he had his brights on. I turned down some roads to try to shake the guy. That's when he smacked into me. The airbag went off. Before I knew what was happening he grabbed me from the car and he just started hitting me.

Mr. Williams remained calm has he gripped his wife's hand. "We're right here with you."

"He threw me into the trunk of his car. We didn't drive all that far. He took me to some building, I think it was a house. I couldn't see that well. All he did was just throw me around and he kept yelling at me. 'So you think you're a hero.'"

"How did you get away?" Prentiss asked.

Danielle shook her head in disbelief. "He put me back in the car and dropped me off somewhere. I started walking and found the trail."

J.J. and Prentiss took their leave with this information.

While J.J. and Prentiss were talking with Danielle, Hotch talked with the doctor.

"Her injuries are mostly superficial. I will keep her here for observation." The doctor told the Agent. "She claims that there was no sexual trauma. She refused a rape kit. I would say by the size of the handprints this guy has to be close to six foot."

He gave Hotch a photo of one hand print bruises.

"I really hope you catch this guy."

"We will do everything we can." Hotch said looking at the print.

CM**********************************************************

Rossi, Morgan and Reid had gone to the jogging trail to see where Danielle was found.

"This area is not overly secluded." Morgan observed. "This place just might have been for convenience."

"I agree." Reid said looking at the area. There were people around, however it wasn't a larger gathering.

Rossi's phone rang right then. "It's Hotch." He put the phone on speaker. "What have you got?"

Morgan and Reid listened to the conversation.

"Williams said that she was taken to some house." Hotch started. "She said that the Un-Sub had attacked her there. He then dropped her off somewhere and she found her way to the jogging trail."

"Did she know how far she went or what direction?" Reid asked.

"No, she was disoriented." Hotch answered. "While he was beating her he kept saying 'So you think you're a hero.'"

Reid listened as his mouth hung open.

"He clearly has something against women." Morgan said.

"We need to deliver a profile to all police and firefighters in Hannity and Brooks." Rossi quickly said. "We need to warn future potential victims."

Reid's mind immediately went to Rowena and Doris.

He stepped aside and pulled out his phone. Mary Anne and Reid had exchanged cell phone numbers while they talked after dinner.

"Hello Spencer." Mary Anne said. "Did you solve the case yet?"

"No," Spencer said. "I need you to do something for me. Call Doris and tell her to be careful."

"What are you talking about?" Mary Anne asked.

"This Un-Sub we think he might be targeting female firefighters."

"What!" Mary Anne said over the phone. "He was firing at the responders. Is Doris in danger?"

"We don't know who his target is." Reid explained. "We are sending out the message for all female firefighters to be careful. We don't know why he's doing this. Just tell her to watch her back, please."

"Okay I will." Mary Anne hung up.

"What was that about?" Morgan asked, not used to Reid walking away to call someone on the phone.

"Nothing." Reid said. "We better deliver the profile." He quickly changed the conversation.

Hotch, Prentiss, and J.J. had gone to the Hannity police department and fire station to deliver the profile. They would meet the others at the Brooks police station.

Morgan, Rossi and Reid headed back to Brooks to give them profile as well.

They team knew that the Un-Sub had now developed the confidence to go after the true object of his rage. The object being female firefighters, what they didn't know was if it was in general or a specific one.

Hotch had called Garcia and had her continue to look into Williams and see if there was some type of connection to Brooks. They had to find something somewhere.

Immediately upon arriving to Brooks Rossi, Morgan and Reid split to deliver the profile. Morgan and Reid would deliver at the police station. Rossi would give the profile to firehouse since they knew him there.

"Our Un-sub is most likely a white male he is in his mid-thirties to mid-forties. He has definitely had training has a firefighter and maybe an arson investigator." Morgan began at the police station. "There is also the possibility that he has received military training. His target has been on firefighters. In his mind he has somehow been betrayed by firefighters.

Reid remained calm while he gave the additional portion of the profile. "With the attack on female firefighter Danielle Williams, it is most likely a female firefighter is the target of his rage. Because he let Danielle Williams go she is most likely not the object of the rage."

"It is important that all firefighters, especially female fighters remain vigilant." Morgan finished.

The team then met in the conference room to figure out why the Un-Sub had developed the confidence and why Williams was picked.

They were not sitting there for that long when Reid's phone rang. The display on the phone showed Mary Anne

"Hello." Reid said answering.

The team immediately noticed the body language of the younger Agent. They didn't need to be profilers to see that something was wrong.

Reid stood and paced. "Calm down, what's wrong? Okay. Okay. Listen to me, I will call you back. I know, I know."

Reid hung up the phone and looked at his team.

They were all looking back at him with concern.

"I don't know if I can help you on this case anymore. I'm emotionally involved now."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Doris Oliver

The team stared at their youngest member. Agent Hotchner maintained his usual poker expression. Rossi had his head tilted as though examining Reid. Morgan was looking rather stunned. Prentiss maintained a look of concern. J.J. looked with curiosity.

"What do you mean emotionally involved?" J.J. said. She couldn't understand why Reid would say that like that. Prentiss compared him to a life like computer.

"I lied to all of you about Mary Anne." Reid said with his head bowed. He was gathering the resolve to tell the truth.

"Your old girlfriend." Prentiss prompted.

"I withheld the truth."

"What about her?" Morgan asked ready for an answer.

"When," Reid started. "When I told you about her family, that she married, I wasn't honest with you."

There was pregnant pause.

"She's married to Doris Oliver." Reid said rather quickly to get the information out.

"As in the fire fighter?" Morgan said. He didn't know why Reid would be so hesitant on telling them this.

"Yes," Reid said. "Mary Anne told me that she can't find Doris. That she's tried calling and her phone is off. It's never off."

"That's who you called," Morgan said. "After we agreed on the profile you called Mary Anne to warn her."

"I know she would have been warned otherwise . . ." Reid tried to explain.

"You still have feelings for Mary Anne." Prentiss stated rather than asked.

"I do." Reid acknowledged. "She loves Doris. They have a good relationship. If Mary Anne is happy with her . . ."

The team looked at Reid not truly satisfied with his answer. They are more than ready to press him for answers using their training as Federal Agents to gain answers.

They say that the truth will set you free. That was what Reid felt at that time. He wanted to tell the team about Rowena. That Mary Anne and him did have a wonderful relationship. He wanted them to know that he was sorry wasn't there for Rowena. He wanted to tell that that in truth he held no ill will towards either Mary Anne or Doris. In truth he wanted Doris found just as much for Mary Anne's sake as Rowena's. Rowena had formed a bond with Doris, even though she wasn't her birth parent, there was love between the two.

Reid didn't want Rowena to endure the pain of losing a parent. There was no doubt in his mind that she would recover from the trauma. She had a strong enough structure around her.

Reid for a moment had the thought that he was not part of that structure. If he tried to enter that structure she would shun away from him, even if he revealed who he was.

The team didn't get to go that far into their interrogation. They were interrupted by a pounding on the door.

Without invitation the door slammed open. Standing there in the doorway was Mark. To say he looked extremely angered at that point would have not been accurate. To say he looked like a honey badger that was facing down someone who stole from them would have been more accurate.

"Doris is missing." Mark flatly stated towards the agents. He pointed his finger angrily towards Rossi. "Now, what are you planning on doing about it?"

Having already established a dialogue with Mark, Rossi was the first to stand and approach him. He kept his demeanor calm to counter the hostility that was fuming from Mark.

"You told us that this bastard is after women firefighters." The younger firefighter standing behind Mark said. "Sullivan was my friend. Doris got me hired. This bastard deserves everything he can get."

"You need something." Mark said. "Name it. I can get you a helicopter or extra men if you need it."

"I understand that you want to help." Rossi said trying to diffuse the situation. "We can assume now that Doris is the object of his rage. We examine Doris and we know who this is."

"I don't care who it is." Mark said. "All I want is his head on a pole."

"You know Doris better than anybody." Morgan said trying to diffuse Mark as well.

"She's a mom." Mark said flatly. "She runs the firehouse like a mom. What else is there?"

"She's a good of a mom as anyone. Look at her kid. That's enough." The younger firefighter stated.

"Enemies?" Morgan said. "Did she have any?"

"Her, never." Mark said. "She made sure to get along with anyone. This is a crazy man. I can't even think how this could be personnel."

"We are afraid that somehow it is personnel." Morgan said. "We need to know what Doris was doing before she disappeared."

"She was at the office in the firehouse. Winnie was with her." Mark said nodding over his shoulder. "She was working."

"Rowena!" Reid said getting up and looking past Mark.

Reid looked past Mark. Sitting on one of the benches in the hallway was Rowena. She had her knees under her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs in a protective manner. There was a younger man sitting with her. Reid only assumed that it was one of the firemen.

The only thing Reid wanted to do right then was go to Rowena. Tell her who he was and that he was going to do everything that he possibly could to find Doris.

Just as much as knowing that was what he wanted to do, he knew that it wasn't the right thing to do.

"Rossi," Reid said looking towards the senior profiler. "Rowena volunteered at a veteran's center over the summer. Her extended family, they have served. She wants to be a Marine when she grows up. You can appeal to her better than one else. I think you should talk with her."

It was normal for Reid to give advisement for his teammates. Outright assigning who should interview a witness was different.

Hotch was looking at Reid as he made the request. It was a reasonable assumption. However he did not spend that much time with Rowena, or had he? Why was there such an interest? Was it just because he had his eidetic memory?

Morgan looked quizzically at Reid. He knew the kid was withholding something.

Prentiss maintained her compartmentalized face. She saw something when Reid talked about Rowena. There was a certain look in his eyes. She didn't know what that look was for sure. Initially she thought it was pride. There was also something else, it wasn't regret. The expression was close enough though.

J.J. looked at Reid. The expression on his face, she had seen it before. At the time she didn't actually understand what was behind that look that day, not at first anyway. J.J. had found out later.

The look that J.J. had seen at this moment matched with the look Reid had on his face when he first introduced them to his mother. It was a mixture of love, a slight embarrassment, and his usual awkwardness.

Rossi was equally stunned by Reid openly telling him that he should interview Rowena.

When it came to interviewing children it was usually left to either Prentiss or J.J. In the case of teenagers Morgan and sometimes Reid would be tasked. It wasn't that Rossi was uncomfortable with children, far from it. It was that he was not the likely choice.

There was also the look that Reid had on his face. When it came to playing poker Reid had only an above average poker face. He won because of his math skills. Rossi could that there were a lot of emotions that Reid was dealing at that particular moment. The profiler knew those were connected to Mary Anne and somehow Rowena.

Rossi also knew that Reid's emotional development had taken several hiccups while he was growing up. It was the only thing that didn't develop normally. That was why he was having a hard time not displaying the fact that something was going on.

"Alright, I'll talk to her." Rossi said to Reid. He nodded back at Hotch. The two made a quick exchange that was only understood by two. They were going to talk about this later.

Rossi stepped past Mark to talk with Rowena.

The team knew they would need to a victimology quickly in order to find Doris.

Hotch and Morgan started talking with Mark and other firefighters. He needed to know what she had done over the past few weeks

Prentiss immediately had gotten on the phone with Garcia. She told Garcia to begin digging into Doris to see if there was anything that stood out.

After Mary Anne first met the team, Prentiss had called Garcia to tell her about Mary Anne and share with her the look on Reid's face when he had introduced them. Garcia had enjoyed the laugh when Prentiss had told her that it seemed like Reid had actually forgotten the team was in the room.

She would have to let Garcia know that Mary Anne was married to Doris.

Reid had hung back, letting the team work. If he figured if there was something that was need from him they would ask.

In the midst of all this, J.J. walked up to Reid. She moved close to his ear to ensure that only he could hear. "This conversation isn't over."

Reid stood there and wondered if she had figured out the truth. He also hoped that Doris was still alive.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Interviewing Rowena

Rossi slowly walked towards Rowena. He had gauged that making his movements slow and precise it would make her more at ease as he approached.

Rowena was sitting cross-legged on the bench. She was clearly guarding herself.

The firefighter that was sitting with Rowena looked instinctively towards Rossi. He clearly saw himself in a protective position to the girl.

"I just want to talk." Rossi reassured him.

The fire fighter placed his hand on Rowena's shoulder. "I'll be right there." He had spoken gently to her.

Rowena nodded. She then moved over slightly to allow Rossi room to sit next to her.

Taking the seat, Rossi took a quick evaluation of Rowena.

She looked like she was a little taller for her age. Her hair was blonde and pulled back in a ponytail. Rowena wore dark blue Keds and tan cargo pants. She had a thin camouflage colored jacket. Her T-shirt depicted what Rossi assumed was some kind of comic book hero symbol. He could easily ask either Garcia or Reid what it was.

"Hello, Rowena." Rossi said taking a seat. "My name is David Rossi. I'm a FBI Agent."

Rowena didn't say anything. She tapped her fingers on her knees. She didn't stay in any sequence; it was just fingers at random.

"We came here because some firefighters here were being shot at. We came to help." Rossi said trying to connect with her.

"I knew something was going on." Rowena replied to that shaking her head. Her tapping on her knees continued. "They all were trying to keep it from me. I figured I should stay out of it and they would tell me eventually."

"We think that your mom's disappearance might have something to do with the person who was firing at the firefighters."

Rowena didn't say anything she continued staring straight ahead. Her finger tapping on her knee continued.

"My ex-wife played the piano." Rossi said pointing to Rowena's hand. "When she was nervous she would tap her fingers like she was playing a piano. She would play whatever song was in her head right then."

Rowena looked at Rossi for a moment.

He took that as an entrance. "You play an instrument?"

"Yeah, I can play few, the organ, the harp." Rowena answered.

"You're good at math and science then." Rossi tried to continue to talk to Rowena.

"Not really," Rowena scoffed.

That created in a huge hole in the Rossi's initial theory. He had entertained the thought for a moment that Reid was Rowena's father. He still didn't know why Reid wanted him of all people to talk with Rowena.

"I know you are worried about your mom." Rossi said gently trying to continue to reach Rowena. He knew if she was comfortable with him that it would be easier to get information from her.

"Can you tell me what you were doing with your mom?"

"I was sitting in her office. I was doing my homework. She was doing the paperwork or something." Rowena answered. "I don't remember much."

Rossi remained calm.

"Would you be willing to do a memory exercise?"

"What?" Rowena asked.

"Let's find some place quiet." Rossi said. There were too many distractions in the open area. He took Rowena's hand and directed her into one of the empty offices.

The firefighter that was watching Rowena didn't say anything. He followed Rossi and Rowena and stood in the doorway, observing.

Rowena took a seat in one of the chairs. Rossi took the one across from her.

"Close your eyes and listen to my voice." Rossi directed.

"You're not going to hypnotize me are you?" Rowena asked becoming tense.

I've had enough with hypnotists, thank you. Rossi thought at that comment.

"No, I'm doing a cognitive interview. Our subconscious picks up more than what are conscious does." Rossi explained. "Just relax, and trust me. You may be surprised by what you remember."

Rowena shook her head and closed her eyes and leaning back on the chair.

"Think back. You're sitting in your mother's office. Was it warm or cold?"

"Cold, I have my jacket on." Rowena answered.

"What about smell?" Rossi asked trying to place Rowena into the memory.

"Popcorn." Rowena answered. "I wanted a snack."

"This is good. You are doing good." Rossi said encouragingly. "What are you doing?"

"Algebra. I can't figure out the answer." Rowena said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Frustrated." Rowena answered. "I've done it twice and the answer is still wrong."

"Let's move away from the homework. What is your mom doing?" Rossi asked.

"Mum is at her desk. She's reading over something. She's typing on the computer. The office phone starts ringing. Mum picked it up. 'Hello. Who is this?'"

"How did she react when she asked who it was?" Rossi asked.

"She gripped the arm of her chair for a moment." Rowena answered.

"Tell me about her tone."

"Not angry." Rowena answered. "I don't know. Like when I got in trouble at school."

"Concerned?" Rossi guessed. There was another hole in the Reid's daughter theory.

"Yeah," Rowena answered.

"What did she say then? Did she give a name?"

"No, she said 'I'll be there'. She then told me to stay in the office and wait for mom to pick me up." Rowena said.

"Did she still sound concerned?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah," Rowena said opening her eyes.

"You did really good." Rossi said gently to Rowena.

"No," Rowena said shaking here head. "I should have paid attention when I saw she was upset. I was worthless at that moment I should have done something." Rowena replied. She held a determined look on her face.

"There was nothing that you could have done." Rossi tried to calm Rowena down.

"Yes there was. I could have asked. Now I'm just sitting here right now. I should be helping. She's my mum."

Rossi thought about Reid and what he had said to him before he interviewed Rowena.

He now knew why Reid had asked him to interview Rowena.

"I retired has a Sergeant Major in the Marines." Rossi said.

This was the first Rowena really looked at him. She seemed to relax a bit now knowing this about him.

"Do marines follow orders?" Rossi asked.

"Yes." Rowena answered

"Then has a future marine I am giving you an order. Stay here at the station or at home. Let us look for your mom. The smartest people I know are in the next room. They are focused on finding your mom. We will do whatever it takes to find her."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Reid and Rowena

While Rossi was talking with Rowena the team continued working.

Morgan and Hotch were talking with Mark and the other fire fighters. They were trying to learn what they could about Doris.

Reid was standing impatiently at the map board. He wanted to help, however he could not seem to keep his emotions calm for very long.

A BOLO alert by the police had quickly located Doris' car. It was found empty in an alley not far from the fire station. There was no sign of an accident or a struggle.

Prentiss and J.J. left to meet the forensics. That way they could see the vehicle for themselves.

The location of the vehicle wasn't much, however it was something that Reid was able to add to the geographical profile.

He had called Mary Anne to let her know about the lead and reassure her that Rowena was fine. She said that she was on her way to the station.

Prentiss and J.J. were driving towards where Doris' car was found. They wanted to see what the location looked like.

They were barely gone when Garcia called J.J's phone.

"Hey, Garcia," J.J. said putting the phone on speaker. "We are on our way to where Doris Oliver's' car found. What have you got?"

"I've been digging into Doris Oliver's life." Garcia began. "She's literally from a family of firefighters. If they aren't firefighters they are teachers or they are married to teachers. Seriously with the exception of a few black sheep, by black sheep I mean farmers and military service. Is it possible for this to be genetic?"

"Family tradition she's proud of." Prentiss answered. "Morgan mentioned that."

"Okay I got that. She's married to Mary Anne Adler." Garcia continued.

"That's Reid's old girlfriend." J.J. said. She had talked with Garcia about it.

There was a momentary pause.

"Okay I am looking at Mary Anne and Doris' marriage certificate. They both changed their names to the hyphenated Adler-Oliver. Turns out it was a family event. There was additional paperwork completed the day they got married. Doris adopted Mary Anne's daughter."

"That would be Rowena. Rossi was interviewing her. Rowena was with Doris before she disappeared." Prentiss said.

"The full name for her now is Rowena Lise Adler now Adler-Oliver." Garcia said. "I'm looking at Rowena's birth certificate right now. You are not going to believe what I am seeing for the father's name."

"Actually I think we might." Prentiss said.

There was another pause at the other end. "He didn't know did he?" Garcia said.

"No he didn't." J.J. said. "He asked to be taken off the investigation."

"Why? He's not mad at Mary Anne or something." Garcia said.

"We don't know." Prentiss answered. "Either way he wants Doris found."

"Have you seen them together?" Garcia asked. "I mean, does she look like him? What does Reid think of her?"

"Reid looks at Rowena the same way he looks at his mother." J.J. said to Prentiss and Garcia.

"He seems like he does know enough about her. I mean he knows that she wants to be a marine." Prentiss continued. "They obviously talked."

"That is too much information at once for him." Garcia said. "We are taking him against his will for a girls' night out where we can discuss this with him."

They had arrived at the scene right then. Prentiss and J.J. began looking at the scene to try to determine what had happened.

CM******************************************************

Back at the police station the team was working.

Rossi had stepped out of the office with Rowena. She appeared to be comfortable with him. Rowena sat with the firefighter that had been with her earlier.

Morgan and Hotch were still going over Doris' past with the firefighters.

It wasn't long before Mary Anne came in accompanied by a well-dressed man. He was clearly being in a supportive position for her.

"Reid," Morgan said into the conference room when he saw her. "Mary Anne's here."

Reid immediately came out of the conference room to greet her.

"Spencer," Mary Anne said going up to Reid. "Why? How?" She was trying to keep her emotions under control.

"That's what we are trying to find out." Reid said calmly.

"Mom," Rowena said running up to her mother and hugging her. "Leo."

The man, identified as Leo, placed a supportive hand on Rowena.

"I'm Leo Garrison." The man introduced himself to the Morgan, Hotch and Reid. "I'm a lay minister at Winnie's church." He said nodding to Rowena.

"Church?" Morgan said looking at Mary Anne and Rowena. Surely he knew about her parents.

Leo immediately addressed Morgan. He kept his tone calm while he talked. "Would you say Winnie is in good health? Is she being taught to have values? Do her mother's give her love and support?"

"Yes, from what I have seen." Morgan answered.

"That is all we at our church really do care about." Leo said. "We teach love and understanding and respect for authority."

Morgan made a quick evaluation of Leo. "It's nice that the church is like that."

"We follow the love thy neighbor ideology." Leo replied. "Winnie came to us on our own with the support of her parents. She actually plays the organ for us sometimes. Mary Anne and Doris both know that they are welcomed at our church at any time."

"What were you doing with Mary Anne?" Morgan asked.

"She was helping me with some of our volunteer work at the church. They both have been supportive to different programs that we have. "

Morgan took in what was said. Leo clearly wanted the agents to understand that he was supportive to the family.

"It seems the church is full of good people." Morgan stated noting that he understood what Leo was stating.

"We already have couples that are gay. It's never been an issue." Leo said. "It is our policy to be welcoming."

"Yeah, that's why I choose the church." Rowena said. "I know that there are several out there that only focus on a few passages and skip the rest."

Morgan had been playing with the idea that Rowena was Reid's. While she did look a bit like Diana Reid, those same features could be applied to Mary Anne. The personalities between Rowena and Reid were very different.

"I understand then that you haven't gotten any threats or any incident that made you uneasy?" Hotch asked.

"You mean like phone calls?" Rowena asked.

The attention of the Agents, the firefighters, Mary Anne and Leo quickly turned to Rowena.

"What phone call?" Mary Anne asked.

"It was just one of those nut jobs." Rowena said. "It was someone trying to quote the bible. They got the passage wrong. It was about man and woman. I hung up on them. The rest of it wasn't worth repeating."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mary Anne was shocked.

"I didn't think that it was important." Rowena said. "I wasn't going to worry about that nonsense."

The younger firefighter suddenly looked towards Mark. "O' Mark you don't think that one idiot, Carl."

"Come on kid, that was three years ago. He can't still be mad." Mark grumbled.

"Who's Carl?" Hotch asked. It was the closest they came to a possible suspect.

"Whinny little brat." Mark answered. "I understood he wanted to prove himself. What he did was dangerous. Almost got two of our guys killed. Doris fired him, right after she took charge."

"What's his full name?" Morgan said pulling his phone ready to call Garcia.

"Carl Jefferson." Mark said. "Haven't seen or heard from him in sometime. I know he applied at other departments, though."

Morgan was already dialing Garcia.

"Rowena," Reid said calmly addressing the girl. "Was it only one call?"

"Yes, a couple of weeks ago." Rowena answered.

"That would have been before the first fire." Reid stated.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 The Un-Sub

Prentiss and J.J. arrived at the crime scene. The immediately began looking around the area to make their determinations.

They looked at the car which was parked in an alley between two high buildings. The neighborhood itself was slightly questionable.

"She wouldn't have just come through here." J.J. stated indicating the seclusion within the alley. "Look at this place, its prime for an ambush."

"There's no cameras, this alley isn't even lit. The windows are small and covered." Prentiss added. "The Un-Sub picked this place out on purpose."

J.J. couldn't help, but agree. "She had to have known the Un-Sub. He would have had to know her well enough to know what to say to draw her out. Who knows what would have happened if Rowena was with her."

"Small favors. I'm calling Hotch to let him know." Prentiss said pulling out her phone.

CM***************************************************************

Meanwhile back at the station the team was working.

Reid was in the conference room with Mary Anne, Rowena and Leo. Leo Garrison was counseling both Mary Anne and Rowena. Reid could tell that Leo did honestly care about Rowena and was trained in counseling. He took comfort in the fact that Leo was able to provide support.

While they were talking Reid's attention went back to his geographical profile. He did want to be a help any way that he could. This was the only thing that he could think of.

Hotch, Morgan and Rossi continued talking to Mark and the other fire fighters to learn what he could about Carl Jefferson.

"He was with the company for a few months." Mark stated. "Talked a good talk."

"He said that he was removed from his old company due to personality conflicts." The younger fire fighter said.

"Yeah, 'unspecified personnel problems'." Mark added. "Everything was fine until the first fire."

"What happened then?" Morgan asked. He had already figured the answer, he was ready to hear it though.

"The house was old and caught fire." Mark started. "There was only one occupant. It was one of those old ladies with more cats than she could probably remember all the names for. Anyway the house was almost gone. Jefferson went in and pulled out four of those cats. The old lady probably would have been thrilled. The asphyxiation got the better of her. She died at the hospital."

"What happened after that?"

"I wrote him up on doing dangerous stuff like that." Mark said. "Then there was a slum building that caught fire. The building went against about every fire code there was. I ordered everyone back. Jefferson went after some squatter in the building. Doris and I thought that fire was started by someone who knew what they were doing, couldn't prove anything though."

"Was that when Doris fired him?" Rossi asked.

"That was right after she became in charge. Doris went off on him, rightly so." The younger fire fighter added. "He called her some things I won't repeat, especially with her wife and daughter not far away."

"I take it was about her relationship with Mary Anne." Morgan stated rather than asked.

"That was the focus of the statements." The fire fighter answered. "I told him that he needed to get out there. I was glad Winnie wasn't around then."

"Have you had any other interactions with Carl Jefferson?"

"Someone called for a reference. I told him the truth." Mark stated.

Hotch's phone rang it was Prentiss. "Hotchner," he said putting the phone on speaker.

"Hotch. Doris had to of known the Un-Sub. There is no way a woman would be willing to go down this alley otherwise."

"We have a suspect here." Hotch said. "It is possible that it was a former fire fighter that Doris had fired."

Morgan's phone then rang it was Garcia. "What do you have for us Baby-Girl?"

"I have everything here on Carl Jefferson." Garcia said. "His grandfather was a firefighter. His dad wasn't able due to medical issues as a kid. Carl Jefferson went on to become a firefighter right out of High School. He was bounced around at different fire houses. I have one here that said the he was suspected in arson. He was questioned. There wasn't enough evidence."

"Where is he now?" Morgan asked. He had heard enough. Carl Jefferson had to be Un-Sub.

"In the wind," Garcia answered. "The address I have for him is over six months old and that was at a men only hotel."

"I know you have something." Morgan said.

"That I do." Garcia said. "If this doesn't cement him as our Un-Sub nothing will. Right after he was fired by Doris Oliver he applied at the Hannity fire department. I would have you make guesses as to who got the job instead of him. I know you don't gamble with profilers."

"Danielle Williams." Morgan stated. "She said the Un-Sub kept asking her if she thought she was a hero when he attacked her."

"Is he tall?" Hotch asked remembering the doctor in the ER had said that the hand print he made on Williams indicated he would be about six feet.

"According to his driver's license he is six foot." Garcia answered.

"Doris Oliver is clearly the object of his rage." Hotch stated. He turned his attention to Mark. "Is there any place you know of that Jefferson would have gone?"

"If I knew that don't you think I would have already left?" Mark was irritated.

CM*****************************************************************

Doris looked at her surroundings. Her head hurt. She had been jumped she knew that. She remembered even fighting back a bit. She had been hit in the head.

The room that she was in was dark and dank. It was probably an abandoned building. She was lying on some blanket that was probably meant to be discarded.

There was enough light in the room to look at her capture. 'That son of a bitch.' Doris thought looking at him.

Carl Jefferson was looking down at her like she was a bug. "You sorry, little bitch." He said to her.

Doris held her ground. She meant to fight him. This was the fire fighter she had tried to help. He had refused her help. He not only turned on her, but went after the other firefighters. Carl Jefferson had hurt her kids. He had killed Michael Sullivan. There was no way she was going to go down easy. She was going to do it herself.

"You think you are so high and mighty." Carl said approaching her. "Got your job because of some rules stating that you had to be there."

Doris was hurt, but she still got up. Not like this.

"My family aspired to be fire fighters. My dad couldn't so I continued on. You come in and take over and try to tell me how to do my job."

Carl made a move to hit Doris. She was expecting the assault and quickly countered by diving.

"You think you're special because you are some kind of lesbian." Carl shouted angrily. "You have whole groups crying for your ridiculous rights." He made a quick move towards Doris, grabbing her arm.

Doris was more than willing to argue back with him. She knew she needed to stay focused. She quickly twisted her arm, forcing Carl to release.

"I've watched you corrupting that girl." Carl said diving onto Doris.

Doris tried to counter. Her foot caught on something and she tripped over something on the ground.

Carl took advantage of this. He grabbed a hold of Doris' leg and started to position himself on top of her. "You deserve to burn in hell for what you did." Carl started punching Doris.

Doris, over-powered, still continued to move and squirm to try to get away from Carl.

"Maybe you need a man to take care of you. Maybe that will set you straight."

Doris' heart went into her throat when she heard Carl start to undo his pants.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Saving Doris

"Baby girl, you have to have something for us?" Morgan begged.

"I'm trying to find something. He didn't exactly leave a forwarding address." Garcia responded. "He doesn't have any aliases that I can find. He doesn't seem to have contact with his family, who I might add live out of state, I mean in Florida."

Reid came out of the conference room "I think I might have something." Having nothing else, Morgan, Hotch and the firefighters quickly went into the conference room.

Rowena and Mary Anne had both been surprised when Reid had suddenly bolted from the room. He seemed to be only drawing pictures on the map. When he came back he had the firefighters and the other agents with him. Whatever it was that he said clearly caught their interest.

"I continued working on the geographic profile." Reid stated. "I used the buildings that I figured he would use for the arson attacks. I also included the buildings from the fires he had helped fight. I have this one here that I put under a limited likeability that it would be used. I know it seems strange, but it seems like he would be here, looking at his former addresses and the other locations."

Hotch figured that to be enough. He made his next order very clear. "Let's go."

The agents quickly left the conference room.

Reid momentarily looked back at Rowena and Mary Anne. He didn't know what to say. He wanted them to know he wanted to get Doris back to them.

CM*************************************************************

Doris regained herself.

She had not been with a man since High School. Even then she didn't understand, she was confused about her sexuality. It took the help of a friend and eventually finding Mary Anne.

With Mary Anne she had a family of her own.

Carl started to move himself of off Doris.

Reaching out, Doris felt something on the ground. It was some tool that was rusted and covered in dirt.

Doris didn't even bother looking to see what it was. She picked it up and swung it behind her at Carl while he was distracted.

Carl cried out from the tool making contact with his leg. He responded by punching at Doris.

"Stupid, bitch," Carl cried holding his wounded leg. With his free hand he grabbed a hold of Doris. "I'm going to burn you alive!"

There was a commotion outside. This got the attention of Carl. Doris used it start to move away.

The two then saw a group of cops coming into the building. They were wearing bullet proof vests. Some looked like they said FBI.

Quickly Carl grabbed a hold of Doris and pulled a knife from his pocket. He held it to threateningly on Doris.

"Carl Jefferson." Agent Hotchner said. "It's over, let her go."

"Not a chance. This bitch ruined my life. Got away with it too because no one wants to be seen as against her kind."

"She's not a kind. She is a human being." Agent Hotchner reasoned.

"No, she's a disgusting abomination." Carl Jefferson said.

"You worked to be a firefighter. You know how many don't make the cut." Agent Hotchner worked to keep Carl's focus on him. He slowly moved closer with his gun raised.

"I did make the cut. Then they came in and thought they knew better. Fire fighters are heroes. That was what I was doing."

"We know you wanted to make your family proud." Agent Hotchner said.

Morgan slowly moved towards Carl from behind. He kept quiet until he placed his weapon next to Carl's head. "Let her go." He said in a slow authoritative tone.

Carl froze being taken by surprise.

Doris took this has her opportunity. She quickly dropped and moved away from Carl.

Morgan didn't waste any time or effort taking down Jefferson.

Immediately Reid holstered his weapon and moved towards Doris. He grabbed her and moved her out of the building and away from Jefferson.

"Winnie." Doris cried.

"She's fine. She's with Mary Anne." Reid said calmly. "We'll get you to the hospital."

"Spencer," Doris said holding onto Reid.

"I'll stay with you." Reid said calmly.

"Don't tell Mary Anne." Doris pleaded.

Reid didn't say anything. He walked Doris to ambulance and let the medics take her.

He looked behind him and saw Hotch, Rossi and J.J. come out of the building. Morgan and the other cops were taking care of Jefferson.

"I'm going with her." Reid called back.

He jumped in the ambulance and it pulled away.

"There is something really up with him." Rossi said watching the ambulance go.

"I can't say I blame him." J.J. "He's taking this a lot better than I figured anyone would."

"What are you talking about?" The senior profiler said measuring up the younger profiler.

"Garcia was doing a background check on Mary Anne along with Doris." J.J. explained. "The father's name on Rowena's birth certificate is Spencer Reid."

"She never told him." Rossi stated rather than asked. "That explains everything."

"Rossi," Hotch said bring the group back on task. "Go back to the station and let Mary Anne and Rowena know that Doris is okay. It will give time for the doctors to examine her."

"Agreed." Rossi said.

"Hotch," Morgan called. "We got something over here."

Hotch and J.J. quickly went back over to Morgan. "We found a car key on Jefferson. The car's over here. Garcia ran the numbers, she said that it was in a junk yard scheduled to be crushed."

The agents walked over to the car, the officers had already popped the trunk. They saw cans of lighter fluid along with a rifle and a box of ammo in there.

"This rifle is the same caliber as the one shot at the firefighters." Morgan stated.

"I'll get this through ballistics." One of the cops said.

CM******************************************************

Reid held onto Doris' hand while in the ambulance. To Reid, this woman was helping to raise his daughter. It was in Rowena's best interest to help Doris.

The medics continued working on Doris. So far all they found was that some minor cuts and bruises. They did state a concern about her head injury.

It did not take long before they arrived at the hospital.

When they arrived Reid stayed next to Doris while the doctors did their initial exam. He remained quiet, letting them work.

Reid stepped back a moment when his phone beeped. Morgan had sent him a quick message. He said that they had found the weapon and that Rossi went to get Mary Anne and Rowena.

"Rossi is bringing Mary Anne and Rowena." Reid said. "I'll have them wait until you are ready."

The doctors were able to finish quickly with their exam, It was then came time for the rape exam.

"Would you like to step outside?" The doctor said to Reid.

"Stay," Doris half whispered. "Spencer."

"I'll stay." Reid said. He positioned himself so he could talk calmly with Doris.

"I'll do this as quickly as I can." The doctor said calmly.

Reid knew that rape victims often humiliated during the exams. He tried to be has supportive as he could.

When the exam was done the doctor talked with both Doris and Reid.

"We were able to acquire a sample for evidence." The doctor said handing sample to the nurse. "That is if you want to press charges."

"It shouldn't be hard." Reid said to Doris. "We have him for all the other charges. The team found the probable weapon and other evidence in his car."

Doris nodded that she understood. "If I don't he wins. I won't let him win."

"That is very brave of you." The doctor told Doris. "I know you probably want to go home tonight. I'm afraid I can't do that. With your head injury I prefer if you remain for observation. I'll have a nurse move you to the room."

Reid's phone beeped. It was Rossi letting him know they were at the hospital.

"Mary Anne and Rowena are here."

"I'm ready." Doris said smiling at him.

"We're moving her to 218." The doctor said.

The nurse came in and held onto Doris helping her into a wheelchair. She then rolled her towards the room.

Reid went towards the lobby. There waiting he saw Rossi with Mary Anne, and Rowena.

Mary Anne immediately ran up to Reid and hugged him. "Thank you, Thank you." She said.

"She's going to be okay." Reid said to her. "They just want her here overnight for observation." Reid said. "She's in room 218."

The group rushed to the room.

Rowena reached the room first. She immediately ran inside and threw her arms around Doris, half on the bed. Mary Anne followed right behind Rowena. She hugged both of them.

Doris in return held onto her family.

Reid and Rossi hung back, watching the family from the door.

"You have a great daughter." Rossi said quietly. "She's going to make a fine Marine someday."

"Everyone knows." Reid asked.

"Garcia." Rossi answered. "You were listed on the birth certificate has the father."

The two watched for a moment and then headed back to the station. They would need to process Carl Jefferson.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Talking with Doris

It was early very early the next morning.

Reid had made sure that he had woken up before the rest of the team. There was something he wanted to do before the team started wrapping up the case.

The previous evening had been busy.

Rossi and Reid had only stayed for a moment at the hospital before they had returned to the station. The rest of the team had already been at work.

Morgan and Prentiss had started interrogating Jefferson.

Hotch had determined that having a woman lead the interrogation would rattle him. The plan had been effective. Not only had they gotten a confession for starting the fires and shooting at the firefighters, they had also got him to admit to kidnapping and attacking Doris Oliver.

It was late by the time that they completed the interrogation. Hotch and the rest of the team wanted to help the prosecutor with the case and the paperwork. The team wanted to ensure that there would be no issues with making sure that Jefferson was prosecuted.

By the time the BAU team had arrived to the hotel everyone was tired.

It would have probably been a quiet evening with a book; however Reid was visited by Morgan and J.J.

"We thought you might want to talk." Morgan said.

"Sure," Reid said allowing them in.

Morgan took a seat in the chair. J.J. and Reid sat on the bed.

"Rossi told me that Garcia found out about Rowena and told everyone."

"We all pretty much figured it out on our own." Morgan said. "Garcia just confirmed it for us."

"Mary Anne never told you about her." J.J. said. "You found out about Rowena because of this case."

"No, she didn't." Reid answered. "I know it seems strange, but I understand why Mary Anne didn't tell me. She had more than enough resources to raise a child on her own. Her family has the money and she was stronger than what most people ever gave her credit for."

"You don't seem angry with her." Morgan commented.

"If I'm angry that would only hurt my chance of having a relationship with my daughter." The words 'my daughter' were strange coming from his mouth. "Doris and Mary Anne have done everything to try and give Rowena a happy childhood."

Reid knew that he didn't need to defend Doris and Mary Anne and their relationship. He wanted to reassure Morgan and J.J. that he was accepting of their union.

"Does Rowena know who you are?" J.J. asked.

Reid still seemed calm. "Right now she thinks her mom and I were friends in college. Mary Anne said that she thinks it would be easier if Rowena figures it out for herself who I am."

"She wants you to have a relationship with Rowena then." J.J. prompted.

"Rowena struggles a little bit with school work, especially in math and science." Reid said.

Morgan managed to keep his initial comments to himself. He could not easily believe that Reid's daughter would have difficulties in school, especially in math and science.

"Mary Anne thinks that we could develop a relationship with me helping her in school." Reid explained. "I was going to ask Garcia for help so I could talk with her on a computer. That is the only way how."

"I think Rowena would like that." Morgan said.

"I thought I would start off teaching her how to play chess. I've played obviously, but I never taught anybody."

"Your own daughter doesn't know how to play chess?" J.J. asked. "I thought that was something academics did? Mary Anne did say that she was a junior professor."

Reid smiled. "Academics wasn't the road she was originally set on."

Morgan squinted, wondering what Reid meant with that comment.

"Mary Anne never really learned how to play chess. I'll be okay. I promise."

Satisfied with that answer, Morgan and J.J. returned to their own rooms.

Reid went to sleep shortly after. He set his alarm early though.

CM**********************************************

Reid made his way to the hospital to see Doris immediately after getting up.

Outside the door were two of the firefighters sitting on chairs. They were clearly keeping an eye on Doris.

"Is she awake?" Reid asked. "I wanted to check on her."

"Yeah, she's awake." One of the firefighters said. "Go ahead."

Slowly Reid opened the door and looked around the room. There were several flowers and balloons in the room.

Doris was sitting up in the bed. She was reading what looked like a card from one of the flowers.

"Hey," he said walking into the room slowly.

"Hey, yourself." Doris said back.

"Where's Mary Anne?"

"She went home to put Winnie to bed and to get me some clothes." Doris answered.

"What did the doctor say?"

"He says that I should be fine." Doris said sitting up on the bed. "He said that I should be careful and if I get really dizzy to get with my own doctor."

"You got a lot of flowers." Reid commented.

"My boys," Doris smiled. "The firefighters. All of those came from Winnie's church. They have always been so nice to us."

Reid checked to ensure that the firefighters were not listening to their conversation. He then sat in the chair next to the bed. "Have you talked with Mary Anne yet?"

"No, not with Winnie here." Doris said looking down. "A counselor came in here earlier. She gave me a list of support groups and counselors that I can go to."

"I think you should." Reid said. "Talking to someone can help. Psychological and emotional problems can manifest themselves into physical ailments." Reid suddenly realized that he was rambling and stopped.

"I don't know." Doris said.

"Mary Anne will support you through it." Reid said knowing the Mary Anne would. "Rowena needs her mothers. She needs both of you. It will help set an example for her."

Doris started laughing at that.

Reid wasn't sure about it.

"I would rather have Jefferson charged with Sullivan's murder. Have him known as a betrayer on par with Judas."

"With the confession that Morgan and Prentiss got it shouldn't be hard." Reid said. "Firefighters are viewed as heroes. The team is making sure that the case against Jefferson is solid. He will be going to prison."

Doris seemed to take comfort in that. "You know, when I first got together with Mary Anne I thought it wasn't right that she kept Winnie from you."

Reid immediately figured that Doris was circumventing.

"She had always spoken of you fondly." Doris continued. "She told me about your goals and how her parents would treat you if they knew you were Winnie's father."

Reid knew that was the reason for Mary Anne's decision. He would have found a way to stand up to Mary Anne's parents. He probably would have wanted either Hotch or Morgan in his corner for that confrontation.

"Then I met her parents." Doris said. "We were together for a while before she introduced us. When she was warning me about them, I thought she was exaggerating."

"They are something." Reid said.

"They were horrible." Doris said in a corrective tone. "Afterwards I told Mary Anne that she didn't provide me sufficient warning. I would have preferred having members of the Mason Family for in-laws."

Reid looked peculiar.

"That's not a joke that you tell a profiler I guess." Doris said taking in Reid's expression.

"After Mary Anne and I decided to become a couple I talked with her about you. I really wanted to meet you and have you meet Winnie."

Reid was a little surprised by the statement.

"I was constantly bothering the police after that first fire." Doris said.

"I was scared every single time there was a call about a fire, no matter where it was. Then after what happened to Sullivan." Doris was keeping her emotions under control.

"I camped out at that station. I told them that if they didn't come up with something I was going to do something drastic."

Reid got a small laugh out of that. "Then we came out."

"Angela, she works in the crime lab, she told me that the BAU had been called in. She showed me the paperwork. I saw your name."

Reid looked at Doris curiously.

"I told Mary Anne that you were coming here. I told that this was the time to meet you and tell you about Winnie."

Doris smiled at Reid. "Now that I meant you, I want you to be in Rowena's life. My dad was important to me growing up and I value our relationship. I want you to be a part of my daughter's life, our daughter's life."


	14. Chapter 14

tannerose5 – I hope you liked how the team figured it out. Of course Garcia, who is miles away finds the confirmation evidence. Reid understands that he lost time. He also understands why Mary Anne didn't tell him. Now that she is older Mary Anne can talk to Winnie about her decision.

Village-Mystic – I wasn't going to do this to Reid. I only had Doris be the point of rage for the Un-Sub. The only thing she really did was be good at her job. She also loves Rowena and that is her daughter in her mind. She still wants Reid to be her dad. She's not jealous towards him.

Another note, I was having fun playing around with words and I just left the personnel in there.

Rowena is not showing any signs of mental issues. She is also physically fit. So she would be able to do anything she wanted. You are right that math and science and music operate in the same part of the brain. She does however not mind being outside.

Chapter 14 The Jet Home

The team took off later that day on the jet. Has the plane took off, Reid watched out the window. He watched the state of California, and ultimately, his daughter disappear from him.

Reid was grateful that he did get to see Rowena before they left. Mary Anne and Doris had brought Rowena with them to the station to see the team off.

Rowena had thanked the team repeatedly for finding her mum.

During that time Reid had managed to say good-bye to Rowena without his emotions showing.

Once the plane had leveled and the team relaxed. Reid took the seat at the table where J.J. was playing with a deck of cards. Reid reached inside of his messenger bag and pulled out the photobook that Mary Anne had given him. He placed it up on the table.

"What's this?" J.J. asked looking at the book.

"Mary Anne gave me this." Reid answered. "It's pictures of Rowena, growing up."

"I want to see what a Baby Reid would look like." J.J. said turning the book so she could see.

Morgan and Prentiss both gathered around the table to look at the pictures.

Reid opened the first page up for the team to see. He had already gone through the book.

On the first page, it was a picture of Rowena right after she was born.

Underneath the photo was her full name.

 _Rowena_

From Ivanhoe.

The first classic book I read that had not been assigned by a teacher.

 _Ada_

From Augusta Ada Lovelace.

"Who is Augusta Lovelace?" Morgan asked, not recognizing the name.

"Garcia would be so mad at you right now." Prentiss laughed.

"Who is she?" Morgan asked. He did not believe he was actually asking for an answer from Reid.

"Augusta Ada Lovelace lived from 1815 – 1852." Reid began. "She was the daughter of poet Lord Byron. She studied under professors at the University of Cambridge. Her mom forced her to study math. Her mom didn't want Ada to learn poetry and develop what she considered her father's madness. Ada was invited to see a calculating machine that eventually became the first computer."

"She wrote code for the machine." J.J. finished. "She wrote language for computers before the invention of computers."

"Ouch" Rossi said to Hotch has they listened to the conversation.

Reid continued to turn the pages of the book for the team.

The pictures were done in chronological order. The team watched Rowena growing up.

Prentiss and J.J. laughed at pictures of Rowena balancing herself after she had learned to walk. J.J. admired the picture of her first day of school. She was in polka-dot skirt and graphic t-shirt.

The next picture was of Rowena in her Halloween costume, it was of her as a kitten. This had drawn awes from J.J. and Prentiss.

Reid turned the pages to the pictures of Rowena with her instruments. "She's musically inclined. She can play the penny whistle, a lap harp, and she plays the piano and organ for church. She's learning to play the violin now."

"That is impressive." Prentiss said.

Reid turned the book, knowing the next pictures would bring several reactions from the team.

"Reid, is that your daughter." Morgan said looking at the picture of Rowena has she crossed the finishing line.

"That's her first 5K." Reid answered.

"Her first?" Prentiss asked.

"She's going to run a third." Reid said calmly. "She wants to do a triathlon by High School."

Reid turned the page and showed the next picture of Rowena playing basketball with her cousins.

"Basketball. She's athletic." Morgan commented.

Hotch turned to look at Reid. "Are you sure you don't want to ask for a paternity test?"

Prentiss laughed at that. She turned the page, eager to see what was next.

It was the group of pictures from when Rowena was in Kentucky.

The pictures showed Rowena with the farm animals and the crops on the farm.

A turn of the pages brought the pictures that Reid knew would bring the strongest reactions from the team.

The next picture the team looked at was of Rowena with a compound bow. Her uncle was behind her clearly teaching her the proper technique. The picture beside it showed the several arrows in and around the center of the bullseye.

"Wow. She's a good shot." Morgan commented.

"Yeah," Reid said. "She's only ever shot at targets."

"She looks like a Katniss Everdeen there." J.J. said admiring the picture.

"Who's Katniss Everdeen?" Reid asked.

There was a familiar sound of snorts and slight laughter from the team.

"I'll give you the book." J.J. said. "Its science fiction so I think you should like it."

Reid knew the picture and evidence that was coming up next.

Morgan's eyes went wide at the picture. J.J. covered her mouth with her hand. Prentiss pointed towards the picture and then at Reid.

"Mary Anne allowed this." Prentiss asked.

That statement brought Rossi and Hotch's curiosity to the table to view the picture.

The team stared at a picture of Rowena with a rifle firing at what looked like a range. The next page was the target. All rounds were within the bullseye.

"Think of it this way kid," Rossi said. "You won't have to worry about teenage boys."

"Athletic. Able to fire a bow and a rifle." Morgan started. "Reid I know you trust Mary Anne, but I really think you should take Hotch's advices about a paternity test."

"Mary Anne says that Rowena is a strong argument for nature vs nurture." Reid said. "That Rowena's athletic ability and her strength is a result of Doris."

"You said Rowena wasn't that good in school" J.J. said.

This got a quirk from Prentiss and Rossi.

"Mary Anne said that was from her." Reid replied.

"Tell us about her." Morgan said. "She obviously met something to you."

Reid figured that it was time to tell the team about Mary Anne.

"Mary Anne was born a princess. Her family had money. She was also considered to be very beautiful. I've never met her parents. Based upon her stories I didn't want to. She often described her parents has been driven towards her success. Mary Anne's mother got her involved in pageants and had gotten her minor acting roles as a child. She played child victims in a couple of crime dramas and patients in medical shows."

Reid felt good letting this out.

"Mary Anne's mother was a stage-mother." J.J. confirmed.

Reid nodded in acknowledgement. "When Mary Anne hit adolescence she became rebellious. Instead of the usual methods of dressing in certain fashions and minor criminal activity she decided to develop her mind instead. Mary Anne never described herself as overly intelligent. She was driven though."

"How did you meet?" Prentiss asked.

"At the library. I was answering an ad requesting a tutor. She hired me to help her with college. The money was more than I expected. I had misjudged her when we first met. I thought she was just a princess who expected to skate by on her looks rather than study."

"She wasn't then." J.J. guessed.

"I figured her problem was that no one had taught her study habits and how to take notes. She also lacked confidence in her own mind. She could act just fine with written lines, she was trained for that. When it came from her, she didn't know how."

"How did her parents take to her stepping away from the spotlight?" Morgan asked figuring the answer.

"Mary Anne was more or less shunned. Her parents still paid for the education, because that money was already there set aside at birth. It really wasn't a great loss for them."

"What about with Rowena? Did she tell them about you?" Rossi asked.

"Based upon the stories that Mary Anne told me, and she is in agreement, I profiled both of them has narcissists and eugenics. She purposely didn't tell them that I was the father or anything about me. They would have been furious because I had been tutoring her. They would also find out about my parents. To them it would be a weapon against me."

"Mary Anne was afraid they would come after you. She was protecting you." Rossi said. He was tempted to meet these people and serve them a taste of what he thought of them.

"Yes," Reid said. "I don't know if I could have handled that back then. I still don't want to meet them."

"What does Doris think of them?" Morgan asked.

"She made the joke that she would have preferred having members of the Manson Family for in-laws." Reid answered.

The team didn't know how to react to that. It really wasn't a joke for those who chased serial killers.

"I told Mary Anne that I did not want Rowena to spend any time alone with them." Reid said. "Doris grew up with a strong family structure, even she agreed."

"What about Doris?" Prentiss asked. "The way you describe them it sounds like they wouldn't have approved."

"Actually it helped put her back in their good graces. They wanted to be scene has tolerant. They were disappointed that Rowena wasn't a little lady. Rowena beating her boy cousin in a game of basketball didn't sit well."

"Reid, Rowena is growing up to be a badass. Did she inherit anything from you?" Morgan asked.

"I think she looks your mom." J.J. said.

"Mary Anne didn't outright blame this on me. I know it didn't come from her. She hated the movies." Reid opened the page to the Halloween of the previous year. It was Rowena dressed has Princess Leia from Return of the Jedi in the camouflage gear she wore on the moon of Endor. Beside her was her friend Kyle dressed as Luke Skywalker.

"Now that is on you." Prentiss said.


	15. Epilogue

The next day at the BAU the team had plenty of paperwork to do. Reid had managed to do his quickly. After he signed off on the last one he made his way to Garcia's office.

"Hey, there's my baby." Garcia asked getting up and hugging Reid. "Now, how is my baby's, baby?"

Reid laughed at Garcia. He was grateful that she was taking the calm approach to grill him. "Fine. I actually wanted a favor from you."

"What do you need?" Garcia asked.

"Mary Anne wants me to have a relationship with Rowena." Reid began.

"You should have a relationship. She's your daughter." Garcia said.

"She's in California. The only way I can talk to her is over the phone. I want to see her as well. The only way to do that is over the computer."

"Done." Garcia said. "The tech goddess will ensure constant communication between you and Rowena. What are you planning to talk about?"

"She needs help in school. That's where we will start."

That day Garcia had gotten a computer for Reid and set him so he could talk with Rowena.

CM**********************************************

It did not take long before Reid had managed to set up a schedule with Mary Anne to talk with Rowena. In a way he had also reconnected with Mary Anne.

During those sessions, Reid would go over Rowena's homework with her. On the weekends Reid would teach Rowena how to play chess. He had even let Rowena win a few games.

When Reid told Morgan and J.J. about this they had laughed. J.J. reassured him that he was being a caring father for it.

Reid was discussing Rowena's biology homework one night. She had been confused over the discussion in class and the material in the book. He had been trying to clarify the subject to her.

That was when something struck him.

"Listen," Reid said than started reciting random words to Rowena.

Rowena seemed unsure about the words, but she listened.

When he was done Reid changed the subject. He asked Rowena about her friends and what else she had done that week.

Reid purposely waited about ten minutes. He then told Rowena to repeat the words he had said earlier.

Rowena looked peculiar, but she recited the words in the same order.

Reid repeated the exercise with Rowena. This time all the words he used were related to biology, some of which she had not learned yet. He then had Rowena repeat the first list he gave and then the biology vocabulary words he provided.

Rowena repeated both lists. She didn't pronounce some of the biology words correctly though.

"Can you get your mom? We need to talk for a moment." Reid asked.

"Sure," Rowena said. "Mum."

Doris came into the picture on the computer.

"Hello, Spencer." Doris said.

"Hi," Reid replied. "I think I figured out why Rowena is having a hard time in school."

"What," Doris said her eyebrows squinting.

Rowena had a similar look on her face.

"I remember what I read," Reid began.

"Mary Anne told me. She said you can't remember everything you hear though."

Reid nodded. "I think Rowena learns best through hearing. Listening and watching the teacher write on the board is confusing. I want Rowena to only listen to the lecture and at home, read out loud from the book. She needs to focus on what is being said."

"We can do that." Doris said.

CM*******************************************************

It was a few weeks later on a case that Reid received confirmation on his theory.

The team had given the profile when his phone rang. He stepped out to answer.

"Mary Anne, what's going on?" Reid asked.

"I'm at that school right now." Mary Anne said.

"What happened?" Reid was concerned.

"We're outside the principal's office right now. Rowena's biology teacher accused her of cheating on her test. We are about to go in together and see the principal."

"Cheating? Why?" Reid asked.

"She went from a C average to passing the last test with a 100 score." Mary Anne answered.

"Put me on speaker when you get in there." Reid said.

"Okay," Mary Anne said. She then walked into the office with Rowena by her side.

"Have a seat." Principal Cleaver said to Mary Anne and Rowena.

Mr. Bryer, Rowena's biology teacher was there as well.

Mary Anne put the phone on speaker. "I've got Rowena's tutor, Spencer Reid, on the phone." She said putting the phone on the desk. "What evidence do you have that Rowena cheated on the test?"

"A student does not make this drastic of a change on a single test." Mr. Bryer stated. "Rowena has stopped paying attention in class. I didn't observe any means of cheating usually employed by students. However she is not that dedicated of a student."

Reid kept his voice calm. "Yes, it is statistically possible with increased tutoring that a student is able to improve their abilities."

"I take it you have some sort of teaching degree?" Mr. Bryer asked.

"Yes I do have advanced degrees and I have looked over all of Rowena's homework for the last few weeks."

"A few weeks does not account for this level of improvements." Mr. Bryer immediately cut in. "I have observed Rowena. She has stopped taking notes and has even turned her head away during lectures. It is only when I ask her a question that she pays attention again."

"Has there been improvement in her other classes? Has she been correctly answering the questions when you have tried to regain her attention?" Reid asked.

"I don't have those records with me for her other classes." Principal Cleaver said. "Mr. Bryer, has Rowena been able to answer questions when asked in class."

"Yes," Mr. Bryer answered. "That is beside the point."

"Let's try this." Reid said. "What was one of the questions on the test?"

Mr. Bryer read off one of the multiple choice questions.

"Rowena, answer the question." Reid said.

Rowena quickly provided the answer.

"What day was that discussed in class?" Reid asked.

"Last week, Monday." Rowena answered.

Principal Cleaver looked at Mr. Bryer for confirmation.

"Yes, that was when it was being discussed."

"Do you have any essay questions?" Reid asked.

Principal Cleaver grabbed the test from Mr. Bryer and read off one of the essay questions.

Rowena immediately gave the answer.

"That almost matches to the answer she wrote." Principal Cleaver said. "Is that an accurate answer Mr. Reid?"

"For the grade level of instruction yes it is." Reid answered. He then went in on a deeper explanation on the subject.

Mr. Bryer seemed to have backed down.

"You certainly seem to have an understanding on the subject." Principal Cleaver said.

"Rowena did not, nor would she ever, cheat on a test." Reid said. "She has not been ignoring any of her teachers. She is doing what I told her to. She has been listening. That is how she learns." He went into a deeper explanation on how with her hearing she could learn and had accounted for her musical ability.

During this time, Rowena's attention was on the phone. She listened to Spencer talk. Something about how he was talking about her

"Is your degree in teaching, Mr. Reid?" Principal Cleaver asked.

"No," Reid asked. "Actually, its Dr. Reid. I have three doctorates."

Mr. Bryer physically stepped back from the phone.

"Well, Dr. Reid," Principal Cleaver said. "The only action I am taking at this time is to say well done to Rowena for her amazing improvement. I will be speaking to her other teachers on her behalf."

"Thank you." Reid said hanging up the phone.

Mary Anne and Rowena said good-bye to Principal Cleaver then left.

CM***********************************************

Morgan and Hotch were waiting a few steps away from Reid when he hung up.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked.

"Rowena was in the principal's office." Reid answered. "Her biology teacher accused her of cheating. We had a parent teacher conference."

"Your first parent teacher conference." Morgan said.

"Yeah, we convinced him that she didn't."

CM*********************************************

Rowena and Mary Anne rode home without talking about what happened. Rowena kept quite staring out the window.

When they arrived home Rowena finished her homework without help and then went to dinner.

At the table Mary Anne talked with Doris. Rowena didn't say much of anything.

"Mommy," she suddenly said when they were almost done eating. "Is Spencer my father?"

"What makes you think that?" Mary Anne asked.

"When I was conceived, you would have been in college. You said Spencer was in college with you. Your eyes are blue mine are brown."

"Do you want Spencer to know, that you know?" Doris asked.

"I like him." Rowena answered.

Mary Anne pulled out her cell phone and called Spencer.

Reid was sitting in the police station. They had caught the Un-Sub. Prentiss and J.J. were doing the interrogation. They had enough evidence to convict without a confession. It was still better to have.

"Hello, how is Rowena." Reid asked.

"She's fine, I think she has a question to ask you." Mary Anne said passing the phone to Rowena.

"Spencer I wanted to know," Rowena began. "Is it okay if I called you Dad?"

"Yes Rowena, I would like that very much." Reid answered turning away.

"I want to see you if I can, maybe during the summer." Rowena said.

"I think I might be able to arrange something." Reid said keeping his emotions under control "Listen, we can talk tomorrow. I need to finish up on my case." He said ending the call.

Morgan was next to Reid during the conversation. He saw the surge of emotions in his best friend.

"What was that about?"

"Rowena," Reid answered. "She wants to call me Dad. She wants to see me over the summer."

Morgan could see the pride in Reid's eyes.

"When we get home we need to celebrate." Morgan said. "I'll see what Rossi can arrange."

THE END

CM***************************************************

To everyone, Thank you for reading

I usually wait until I finish a story before I post it. I did this one right after the first chapter.

So thank you for the patience.


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